American Express Company $AXP Shares Acquired by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express Company by 10.9%, acquiring a total of 175,154 shares valued at approximately $47.1 million at the end of the first quarter.
• American Express reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08 for the last quarter, beating analysts' expectations of $3.86 and showing a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a $0.82 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,154 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,265 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $47,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $523,000. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 100,466.7% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,017 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $325.48 on Friday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $313.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.91. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% 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 valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.45.

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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