Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Lowers Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Hanson & Doremus Investment Management reduced its holdings in American Express by 22.5% during the second quarter, now owning 3,034 shares valued at approximately $968,000.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, set to be paid on November 10th, which represents an annualized yield of 1.0%.
• Several analysts have provided mixed ratings on the stock, with target price adjustments leading to a consensus target of $315.20 and a majority rating of "Hold."

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,034 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 881 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in American Express were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 104.0% in the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

American Express Trading Up 0.6%

AXP opened at $342.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $317.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $296.32. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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