Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 557,152 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 42,286 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of American Express worth $177,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $362.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $346.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $249.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $377.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DZ Bank raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, October 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.