American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 500,311 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 49,842 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $135,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second 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. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents 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, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 Stock Down 1.5 %

AXP stock opened at $288.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a twelve month low of $153.50 and a twelve month high of $296.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $269.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.86. The stock has a market cap of $203.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

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.