Avalon Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avalon Trust Co lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 751 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 832,949 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $156,846,000 after purchasing an additional 333,609 shares in the last quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its stake in American Express by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 2,305 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,000. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 81,060 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $15,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.88. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.