AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Purchases Shares of 20,898 American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has acquired a new stake in American Express Company by purchasing 20,898 shares valued at approximately $6.145 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, while achieving a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3% to $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,898 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $6,145,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Express by 13.7% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 408,283 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $313.45.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $3.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $325.48. 2,000,286 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,257,868. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $313.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 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. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 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.