American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Lowered by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,859 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.9% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $533,018,000 after acquiring an additional 67,575 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,549,000 after acquiring an additional 102,977 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $294,856,000 after acquiring an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $220,825,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $234.13 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

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.