977 Shares in American Express Company $AXP Purchased by Hofer & Associates. Inc

Key Points

• Hofer & Associates, Inc. acquired 977 shares of American Express, valued at approximately $312,000, during the second quarter of the year.
• Following various institutional investments, 84.33% of American Express stock is now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• American Express saw CEO Stephen J. Squeri sell over 112,000 shares for approximately $37 million, representing a significant decrease in his position.

Hofer & Associates. Inc bought a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 977 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. GSB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 9.5% during the second quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 903 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 13,062 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,167,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth about $355,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.0% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 22,030 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.5% in the second quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $341.73 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $345.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $315.10 and a 200-day moving average of $294.01.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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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