Callahan Advisors LLC Sells 75 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Callahan Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,825 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in 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 last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 162.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $276.08 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $151.51 and a 52-week high of $286.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $194.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.