Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Has $403,000 Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,263 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19. The company has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $320.01 and its 200-day moving average is $298.43.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.95.

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.