Bank of Hawaii Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bank of Hawaii cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,995 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 147,573 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $40,022,000 after acquiring an additional 7,258 shares in the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.6% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 73,704 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $19,989,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 9,415 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 9.5% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 11,906 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $301.30 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $163.32 and a fifty-two week high of $301.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.