1,208 Shares in American Express Company $AXP Acquired by Spartan Planning & Wealth Management

Key Points

• Spartan Planning & Wealth Management has acquired 1,208 shares of American Express, valued at approximately $385,000, in the second quarter, marking interest from institutional investors in the company.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, exceeding analysts' consensus estimate of $3.86, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.0%, to be paid to investors of record on October 10th.

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,208 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 104.0% during the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $342.26 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 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $318.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.86. The firm has a market cap of $238.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $317.75.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 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.

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