Asio Capital LLC Acquires New Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Asio Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in American Express, purchasing 10,461 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock for around $37 million, reducing his holdings by 54.74%.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 1.0% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Asio Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 10,461 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $3,337,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the first 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 worth $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $342.26 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $318.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $238.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue 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 year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.75.

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.

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