Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 4,829 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Townsend & Associates Inc reduced its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 38.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,895 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,829 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc's holdings in American Express were worth $2,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $317.48 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $288.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm'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 now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 research report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

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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