Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 1,774 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,656 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,774 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 9,333 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 11,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,228,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $342.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.28. 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 fifty day moving average price of $317.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.81. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

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.