Lavaca Capital LLC Sells 3,395 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lavaca Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,395 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,682,959 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $456,418,000 after purchasing an additional 7,676 shares during the period. Smead Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,629,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $441,915,000 after purchasing an additional 54,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its stake in American Express by 2.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,270,814 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $343,437,000 after buying an additional 27,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $280.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.51. The firm has a market cap of $214.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $165.93 and a 52 week high of $307.82. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm 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 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.