Trust Co. of Vermont Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 23,169 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $312.75. 2,180,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $298.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.18. The company has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $177.81 and a fifty-two week high of $315.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.