Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 1,760 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 117.5%, acquiring an additional 1,760 shares during the first quarter, raising its total holdings to 3,258 shares valued at approximately $877,000.
• American Express recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.
• The company's stock has shown a recent gain of 3.5%, with earnings per share reported at $4.08 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 117.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,258 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 1.3% during the 1st 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 4th 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 worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.23 on Wednesday, reaching $322.83. 1,970,031 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,388,932. The company has a market capitalization of $224.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.28. 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 Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $310.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.12.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during 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%. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.