American Express Company $AXP Shares Bought by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. significantly increased its holdings in American Express by 153.5% in Q2, owning 12,558 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Insider transactions show Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares while CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares, collectively reducing their ownership by notable percentages.
• Deutsche Bank raised American Express' price target from $371 to $375, reflecting continued analyst confidence with a general average rating of “Hold” among investment analysts.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 153.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,558 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,605 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

American Express Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $325.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $313.29 and a 200 day moving average of $291.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

About American Express

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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