American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,529 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,365 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 2.8% of Searle & CO.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Searle & CO.'s holdings in American Express were worth $11,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $244.58.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXP

American Express Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $271.22. 2,049,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,930,045. The company has a market capitalization of $195.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $141.02 and a 52-week high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $263.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.

Further Reading

Before you consider American Express, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and American Express wasn't on the list.

While American Express currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

Just getting into the stock market? These 10 simple stocks can help beginning investors build long-term wealth without knowing options, technicals, or other advanced strategies.

Get This Free Report

Like this article? Share it with a colleague.

Link copied to clipboard.