Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Lowers Position in American Express Company $AXP

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,125 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $360.70 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $335.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.77. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $365.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered 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 target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

Insider Activity

In other American Express 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 value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was 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 represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 222,011 shares of company stock worth $70,725,044. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.