Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express by 4.1%, owning 123,377 shares valued at approximately $33.2 million, making it the 17th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with Glenda G. Mcneal selling 50,000 shares for $15.5 million and Laureen Seeger selling 16,998 shares for approximately $5 million, indicating substantial decreases in their ownership stakes.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $17.86 billion, a 9.3% year-over-year increase, while a recent dividend of $0.82 was also declared.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,377 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 5,308 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 0.6% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $33,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.8% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 792 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,661 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of 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 issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 157,724 shares of company stock worth $48,227,228 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $4.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $326.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,971,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,244,027. The firm has a market cap of $227.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $332.46. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $313.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

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.