American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Strong Earnings

American Express (NYSE:AXP) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 1,058,508 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 3,049,374 shares.The stock last traded at $224.15 and had previously closed at $217.50.

The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in 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 during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $220.06 and a 200-day moving average of $188.35.

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.