American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Decreased by Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,825 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,365 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

American Express stock opened at $274.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12 month low of $143.07 and a 12 month high of $286.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $265.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.71. The stock has a market cap of $193.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.