Global Assets Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Global Assets Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 38.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,565 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 966 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.95.

American Express Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AXP opened at $330.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $320.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company 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 business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.