Ballentine Partners LLC Raises Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 15.9% during Q2, bringing their total holdings to 22,051 shares valued at approximately $7 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about American Express, with several firms raising their price targets; Truist Financial set a target of $375 and rated it a "buy."
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling over 112,000 shares for approximately $37 million, reflecting a decrease in his ownership by nearly 55%.

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,051 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $7,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE AXP opened at $341.74 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $315.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $237.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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