Apella Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE: AXP) by 308%, acquiring an additional 3,055 shares to hold 4,047 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a 14.78% net margin and 9.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for American Express, with Truist Financial increasing theirs from $348.00 to $375.00, citing a "buy" rating for the stock.

Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 308.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,047 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 3,055 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell 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 $315.20.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $340.41. 8,629,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,346,006. 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 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $344.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $314.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $293.34. The company has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 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 the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.