Kestra Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, now holding 57,744 shares valued at approximately $15.5 million.
• American Express underwent several analyst rating upgrades, with JPMorgan raising its price target from $260 to $342, and a consensus target price of $311.05 among analysts.
• The company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating a 9.3% revenue increase year-over-year with total revenue of $17.86 billion.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,744 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $15,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 18,268 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,422,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in American Express by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,682,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:AXP traded up $4.81 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $320.61. 1,848,235 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,326. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $309.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.89. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $223.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.