Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Buys 6,165 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Beck Mack & Oliver LLC has increased its stake in American Express Company by 1.6%, acquiring an additional 6,165 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to over 401,858 shares.
• American Express reported a 9.3% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $3.86.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.0%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 23.02%.

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 401,858 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 6,165 shares during the period. American Express makes up 2.2% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $108,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $6.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $330.56. 2,483,004 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,902,854. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $332.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

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.