Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,509 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,837 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.2% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $273.87 on Tuesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $276.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $197.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $253.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AXP. 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.83.

About American Express

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.