American Express Company $AXP Shares Acquired by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its position in American Express by 4.8% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 792 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,661 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $323.46 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $313.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.47. The company has a market capitalization of $225.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.45.

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.