Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 214 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,705 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.7% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $267.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $263.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 1 year low of $141.02 and a 1 year high of $286.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.