American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Guardian Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. reduced its stake in American Express by 3.1%, bringing its holdings down to 27,837 shares, valued at $7,242,000, according to its latest SEC filing.
• American Express reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, beating estimates, with revenues of $17.86 billion, marking a 9.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Guardian Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,837 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 882 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $7,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped 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. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was 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 valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AXP stock traded down $3.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.58. 1,125,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,261. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $226.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $313.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.71.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last 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. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

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.