Hemenway Trust Co LLC Makes New $377,000 Investment in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,400 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded up $3.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $296.54. The stock had a trading volume of 3,690,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,396. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.84. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.