American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Capital Market Strategies LLC

Capital Market Strategies LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 860 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $295.50 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.61 and a 200-day moving average of $288.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $207.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

About American Express

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.