Proffitt & Goodson Inc. Invests $41,000 in American Express Company $AXP

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 128 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in shares of American Express by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,073 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,019 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,953 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in American Express by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,228 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.55.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

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.