Arjuna Capital Sells 8,878 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital has significantly reduced its stake in American Express by 54.2%, owning 7,513 shares worth approximately $2 million after selling 8,878 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in American Express, with DZ BANK AG raising its stake by 463.3% and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing holdings by 27,625.2% in the first quarter.
• American Express's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.08, exceeding expectations, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting a 1.1% yield.

Arjuna Capital lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 54.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,513 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 8,878 shares during the quarter. Arjuna Capital's holdings in American Express were worth $2,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express 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 owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $2.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $297.41. 1,778,023 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,640,008. The stock has a market cap of $206.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $306.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.91. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 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.