American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co cut its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 222,011 shares of company stock valued at $70,725,044 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $361.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $248.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $362.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

American Express 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.