OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Has $228,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in American Express were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its holdings in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.50.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $239.80. 1,329,787 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,989,917. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.28. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41. The company has a market cap of $172.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.