American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in American Express (AXP) by 5.8%, holding 321,242 shares valued at approximately $86.43 million after selling 19,723 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express at an average price of $310.77, marking a 21.31% decrease in their position.
• Wall Street analysts project growth for American Express, with target price increases from firms like Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and JPMorgan Chase, suggesting a potential future value in the stock.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 321,242 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 19,723 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in American Express were worth $86,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $306.1130 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $307.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.01. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $213.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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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