American Express Company $AXP Holdings Lifted by Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI

Key Points

• Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its stake in American Express Company by 4.1% during the second quarter, holding 47,577 shares valued at approximately $15.18 million.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold over 112,000 shares of American Express stock, representing a significant 54.74% decrease in his ownership.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, with an ex-dividend date of October 10th, reflecting a 1.0% yield on an annualized basis.

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,577 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.5% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's holdings in American Express were worth $15,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have 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

AXP stock opened at $330.10 on Monday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day moving average is $320.01 and its 200-day moving average is $298.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.95.

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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