Chemung Canal Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,961 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,589 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.3% of Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 1.5 %

American Express stock opened at $320.87 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $186.43 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.00.

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.