Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,160 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,331 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.9% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,900,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $268.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $193.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $252.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.55. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $272.68.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.43.

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.