WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $917,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,320,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,281,753,000 after acquiring an additional 507,042 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 118,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after purchasing an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after purchasing an additional 35,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $911,554,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE AXP traded down $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $227.31. The stock had a trading volume of 892,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,136,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $167.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.84.

American Express Company 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.