BDF Gestion Sells 1,697 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• BDF Gestion reduced its stake in American Express by 9.8%, selling 1,697 shares during the second quarter, leaving it with 15,574 shares valued at approximately $4.97 million.
• Despite some analysts issuing a "sell" rating, American Express received mixed reviews with 8 analysts rating it as a "buy" and several others maintaining a "hold" rating, with an average price target of $315.20.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by executives, with Anna Marrs selling 5,500 shares and Douglas E. Buckminster selling 23,505 shares, totaling over $9 million in transactions.

BDF Gestion cut its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,574 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,697 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion's holdings in American Express were worth $4,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $340.41. The company had a trading volume of 8,629,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,350. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $344.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $314.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.20.

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.