Bank of Stockton Has $2.24 Million Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Bank of Stockton decreased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,309 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,747,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,311,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 50,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $14,842,000 after buying an additional 4,959 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 13.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $308.73 on Thursday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $286.36 and its 200 day moving average is $288.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express 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.