Douglas E. Buckminster Sells 117,309 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $236.09 on Thursday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $225.31 and a 200 day moving average of $196.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.