MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 207 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,104 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 252,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $68,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.1% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,146 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 99,992 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $26,903,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in American Express by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 1,826 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.37.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $318.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.38. 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 Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.