American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Procyon Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company by 29.6% during the second quarter, now owning 6,350 shares worth $2,025,000.
• Several other hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have increased their stakes in American Express during the fourth quarter.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock, resulting in a 54.74% decrease in his ownership position.

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,350 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,672 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew 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 valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC grew 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 valued at $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in American Express by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,702 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,919,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $327.28 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $313.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

American Express Company 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.

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