PVG Asset Management Corp Takes $211,000 Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• PVG Asset Management Corp acquired 786 shares of American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) during the first quarter, valued at approximately $211,000.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share, beating analyst expectations and achieving a 9.3% year-over-year revenue growth to reach $17.86 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 786 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.45.

American Express Trading Down 1.2%

AXP stock traded down $3.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. 2,000,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,257,868. 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 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $332.46. The company has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $313.29 and its 200-day moving average is $291.89.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. 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.