NBZ Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 2,403 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 44.8%, now owning approximately 7,762 shares valued at $2,088,000.
• Insiders at American Express sold a total of 64,950 shares in the last three months, with significant individual sales observed from Glenda G. Mcneal and Anna Marrs.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS beating forecasts, with a net revenue of $17.86 billion for the last quarter, reflecting a 9.3% increase year-over-year.

NBZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,762 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.2% of NBZ Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arista Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the first quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 0.4% during the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 9,692 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.83 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $296.76. 2,180,916 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,958. 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 twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The company has a market cap of $206.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $306.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.14.

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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company 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 business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

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.