HM Payson & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,754 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,742 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $21,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $328.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.84. The company has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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