State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 3,651 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,600 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,651 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in American Express were worth $24,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 46,889 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,615,000 after acquiring an additional 13,468 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $579,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at $56,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $343.95.

American Express Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE AXP opened at $382.88 on Friday. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $387.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $338.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $263.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

About American Express

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co?brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.