American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,962 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $315,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 100,627 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $27,290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in American Express by 422.8% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 758 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in American Express by 9.7% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 4,801 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE AXP opened at $293.05 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $268.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $153.50 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.