American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,010 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 3.2% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

American Express stock opened at $284.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.99. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.