Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Lowers Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. reduced its stake in American Express by 50%, selling 1,600 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,603 shares valued at $431,000.
• American Express reported a quarterly revenue of $17.86 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, and reported an earnings per share of $4.08, above the consensus estimate of $3.86.
• The company has announced a $0.82 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% with a current payout ratio of 23.02%.

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. cut its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,603 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,188 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 148.8% during the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 67.1% during the first quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the first quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 357.6% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,063 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 6,301 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $4.27 on Monday, hitting $298.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,875,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,181. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $306.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.20. The firm has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by 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.