MCF Advisors LLC Sells 1,211 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,707 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,211 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.55. The stock had a trading volume of 3,901,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,091. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $234.69 and its 200 day moving average is $215.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.