American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 116,822 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,481 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 2.4% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.45.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $329.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.