Ballast Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ballast Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,365 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $375,000. Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 8,941 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,221 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Mittelman Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $1,219,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 5.4 %

NYSE AXP traded up $14.85 on Wednesday, hitting $290.79. 574,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,895,747. 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 twelve month low of $152.05 and a twelve month high of $293.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express 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.