Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 19,425 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express Company by 12.1%, owning a total of 179,969 shares valued at approximately $48.4 million as of the most recent reporting period.
• Several institutional investors, including Investment Management Corp VA ADV and MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC, have recently purchased new positions in American Express, with hedge funds holding 84.33% of the stock.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 EPS, surpassing estimates, with quarterly revenue of $17.86 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 9.3%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 179,969 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 19,425 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $48,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.4%

AXP traded down $7.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $323.22. The stock had a trading volume of 3,437,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,270. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $312.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $332.07.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

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.