American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,058 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,439 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $230.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

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.