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

Whitener Capital Management Inc. cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,940 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $433,709,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 26,783.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in American Express by 924.2% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $272.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $286.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $266.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.