American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,859 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 37,288 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,986,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Crew Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 127,555 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $23,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the period. Finally, Investment House LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 90,950 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $17,039,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $234.13 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company 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.