American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 24.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 50,243 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 16,344 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.6% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. DZ Bank raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $382.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $387.49. The company has a market capitalization of $263.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share for the quarter. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.