American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 107.0%, acquiring a total of 53,797 shares valued at approximately $14.47 million at the end of the last reporting period.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, surpassing estimates and marking a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a yield of 1.1%, set to be paid on August 8th to shareholders of record.

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 107.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,797 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 27,814 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $14,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $294.25 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $204.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $306.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during 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%. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

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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