Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 733 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,992 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 1.1% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $29,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $286.87 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $272.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.