American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV reduced its stake in American Express by 37.4%, selling 17,658 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 29,532 shares valued at approximately $7.95 million.
• Insiders sold significant amounts of American Express stock recently, including Glenda G. Mcneal, who sold 50,000 shares for $15.47 million, and Anna Marrs, who sold 5,500 shares for $1.71 million.
• American Express reported strong earnings with an EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 with a yield of 1.1%.

ING Groep NV trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 37.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,532 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 17,658 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in American Express were worth $7,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $298.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $306.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.10.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial upped 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. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.

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