3,832 Shares in American Express Company $AXP Purchased by Notis McConarty Edward

Key Points

• Notis McConarty Edward purchased 3,832 shares of American Express (AXP), valued at approximately $1,222,000, indicating confidence in the company’s future performance.
• Analysts have mixed views on AXP, with nine rating it as a Buy, thirteen as Hold, and three as Sell, reflecting varying expectations for the company's stock price growth.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express, reducing his ownership stake by 54.74%, which may raise investor concerns about insider sentiment.

Notis McConarty Edward purchased a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,832 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 3.8% during the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in American Express by 4.7% during the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank increased its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction 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 approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $225.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $321.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend 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.

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