American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in American Express Company by 43.0%, now owning 8,979 shares valued at $2.86 million following the sale of 6,760 shares.
• Around 84.33% of American Express stock is owned by institutional investors, with firms like Nuveen LLC and Wellington Management significantly increasing their stakes earlier this year.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share payable in November.

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,979 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 6,760 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $2,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

American Express Stock Up 0.6%

AXP stock opened at $342.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $317.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 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 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $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 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. Company 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.

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