Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Decreases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,149 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,748 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $52,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,676 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 136.6% in the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $353,740,000 after buying an additional 640,214 shares during the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 13,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,197,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 19.9% in the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $1,601,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings raised American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DZ Bank raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $358.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $365.75. The company has a market capitalization of $247.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $309.27.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s 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 $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 222,011 shares of company stock valued at $70,725,044. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.