American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 22.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,739 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,631 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,524 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,592 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

AXP stock traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $292.70. 2,625,697 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,816,773. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.76.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Citigroup cut their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

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.