OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Has $206,000 Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in American Express were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $217.51 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.79. The company has a market capitalization of $157.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About American Express

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.