Moran Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,114 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,589 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $21,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 3.5% during the first quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $1,488,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of American Express by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 46,889 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,615,000 after buying an additional 13,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $378.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $368.27 and a 200 day moving average of $338.61. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.40.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.