Freedom Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% in 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 in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $305.60 on Wednesday. American Express has a one year low of $163.32 and a one year high of $306.97. The company has a market capitalization of $215.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $277.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.