American Express Company $AXP Shares Bought by Maj Invest Holding A S

Key Points

• Maj Invest Holding A S increased its stake in American Express by 17.7%, making it one of the company's significant institutional investors with a value of approximately $165.3 million.
• American Express's CEO, Stephen J. Squeri, sold 112,272 shares of the company, representing a 54.74% decrease in his ownership position, while insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares in the last three months.
• Analysts are mixed on American Express, with various firms adjusting their price targets; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised theirs to $394.00 while DZ Bank downgraded it to a sell rating.

Maj Invest Holding A S grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 17.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 518,279 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,058 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 5.8% of Maj Invest Holding A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Maj Invest Holding A S owned 0.07% of American Express worth $165,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in American Express by 107.5% in the second quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 903.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,658 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $6,908,000 after buying an additional 19,500 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 121.9% during the 2nd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,891 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 2,256 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 155,374 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $49,757,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $332.26.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $349.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $243.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $326.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $350.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The business's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

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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