Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Sells 3,454 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in American Express by 2.5%, now owning approximately $35.71 million worth of shares after selling 3,454 during the first quarter.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and recording a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.0%, reflecting a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,722 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,454 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $35,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $322.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,969,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,904,115. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $309.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $224.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.