American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Chemung Canal Trust Co.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,475 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,486 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 1.2% of Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Chemung Canal Trust Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $5,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in American Express by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,424,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,840,627. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $297.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $222.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $298.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express 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.