Quent Capital LLC Has $962,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Quent Capital LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,577 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $295.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $270.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.68. The stock has a market cap of $207.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.