St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Has $2.45 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,754 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 447 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.2% of St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its holdings in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $230.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $165.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $234.20 and its 200-day moving average is $215.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.