American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,473 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $308.73 on Thursday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $286.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.