Acima Private Wealth LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Acima Private Wealth LLC has reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE: AXP) by 66.7%, now holding only 1,000 shares valued at approximately $269,000.
• American Express reported a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, totaling $17.86 billion, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, surpassing analyst expectations.
• Institutional investors own approximately 84.33% of American Express’s stock, indicating significant institutional interest and activity in the company’s shares.

Acima Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in American Express by 27,625.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $298.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

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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