Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 417 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 417 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 6.3% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,153 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $584,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 142.9% during the third quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 4,022 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 114.7% during the third quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 17,897 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,854,000 after acquiring an additional 9,560 shares in the last quarter. Palisades Hudson Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of American Express by 22.5% during the third quarter. Palisades Hudson Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,721 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 53.2% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 115,762 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $31,395,000 after purchasing an additional 40,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Up 2.2 %

AXP opened at $276.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $151.51 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $266.76 and its 200 day moving average is $248.34. The stock has a market cap of $194.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.