American Express Company $AXP Shares Acquired by Plancorp LLC

Key Points

• Plancorp LLC increased its stake in American Express by 20.5% in the first quarter, owning 4,615 shares valued at $1,242,000.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and up 9.3% from the previous year.
• A recent dividend of $0.82 per share was declared, representing an annualized payout of $3.28 and a yield of 1.0%.

Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,615 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

American Express Stock Up 1.8%

American Express stock traded up $5.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $329.22. The company had a trading volume of 950,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,877,023. 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 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $332.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $313.32 and a 200 day moving average of $291.47. The stock has a market cap of $229.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.