Peoples Financial Services CORP. Sells 1,052 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its stake in American Express by 9.6% during the second quarter, selling 1,052 shares, bringing its total holdings to 9,879 shares valued at approximately $3.15 million.
• Institutional investors own about 84.33% of American Express's stock, with significant increases in stakes from firms like Goldman Sachs, which grew its position by 25.5% in the first quarter.
• American Express recently declared a $0.82 quarterly dividend to be paid on November 10th, indicating a yield of 1.0% based on its current stock price.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,879 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.6% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $126,119,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $342.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $317.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.32. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a PE 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

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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