American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lessened by First Bancorp Inc ME

First Bancorp Inc ME cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,760 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in American Express were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $8.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $276.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,884,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,930,270. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.78. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $286.36. The firm has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.