First Bancorp Inc ME Sells 90 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

First Bancorp Inc ME lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,760 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in American Express were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $42,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $8.99 on Friday, hitting $276.79. 7,884,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,930,270. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $261.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $242.33.

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.