Shayne & Jacobs LLC Sells 21,792 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Shayne & Jacobs LLC cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,390 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 21,792 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 4.4% of Shayne & Jacobs LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Shayne & Jacobs LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE AXP opened at $316.27 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $322.16 and a 200-day moving average of $300.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

American Express 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.