Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 29.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,299 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,683 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.7% of Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 14,521 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AXP opened at $325.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $332.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $313.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.45.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last quarter. 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.