Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 14,198 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,750 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 14,198 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE AXP traded down $1.32 on Thursday, hitting $304.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,697,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,894,898. The company’s 50-day moving average is $278.61 and its 200 day moving average is $254.61. The firm has a market cap of $214.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $163.61 and a 1-year high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Company Profile

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.