Bleakley Financial Group LLC Grows Position in American Express Company $AXP

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 26.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,791 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $354.71 on Friday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $357.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.99. The company has a market cap of $244.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.