Douglas E. Buckminster Sells 117,309 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $234.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average is $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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.