Trustco Bank Corp N Y Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Trustco Bank Corp N Y reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,954 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.9% of Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.0%

AXP opened at $299.48 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

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.