Maple Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,481 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Maple Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express by 2.9% in the first quarter, selling 3,481 shares and holding a total of 116,822 shares valued at approximately $31.43 million.
• Insider trading activity saw Laureen Seeger sell over 61,000 shares, significantly reducing their stake by 87.27%, while insider Anna Marrs also decreased their holdings by 21.31%.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share in its last quarterly earnings, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $17.86 billion, up 9.3% from the previous year.

Maple Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,822 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,481 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 2.4% of Maple Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $31,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

American Express Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $3.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. 2,000,286 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,257,868. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $332.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $313.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.89.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

American Express Company 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.