Northern Financial Advisors Inc Sells 89 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Northern Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,788 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.1% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.26. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Saturday, September 27th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.55.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.