American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Cambridge Trust Co.

Cambridge Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 168,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.3% of Cambridge Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $218.59. 2,078,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,050,441. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $219.56 and a 200 day moving average of $187.58. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $231.69. The company has a market capitalization of $158.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.