Trust Co of the South Has $388,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Trust Co of the South decreased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,306 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in American Express were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Auxier Asset Management grew its position in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

American Express stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $297.09. The stock had a trading volume of 990,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,794. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.28 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $177.81 and a 12 month high of $307.82. 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 50-day simple moving average of $292.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $263.68.

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.