American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in American Express Company by 22.7%, ending up with 33,773 shares valued at approximately $10.77 million after selling nearly 10,000 shares in the second quarter.
• American Express recently reported an earnings per share of $4.08 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations of $3.86, while also posting revenue of $17.86 billion, which is up 9.3% from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, which will be paid on November 10th, with an annual yield of 1.0%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 22.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,773 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 9,932 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $10,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $324.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $321.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AXP. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

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.

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