Wealth Quarterback LLC Makes New Investment in American Express Company $AXP

Wealth Quarterback LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. DZ Bank upgraded 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, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $370.04 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $373.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $341.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.19.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

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.