Conning Inc. Acquires 1,541 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 36.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,759 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.25.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $328.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $294.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.65.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.