Prostatis Group LLC Has $423,000 Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Prostatis Group LLC trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 33.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,325 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the period. Prostatis Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:AXP opened at $316.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $322.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.17.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. 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%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.60.

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.