American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,126 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,695 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in American Express were worth $10,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Foundation Advisors grew its position in shares of American Express by 7.2% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 3,261 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $272,000. Hutner Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,186,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 415.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,488,000 after acquiring an additional 12,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 823.5% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 628 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $286.80 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $157.97 and a twelve month high of $296.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $202.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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, BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

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 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 owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.