Benjamin Edwards Inc. Cuts Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its stake in American Express by 26.3%, holding a total of 28,841 shares valued at approximately $7.76 million after selling 10,303 shares during the first quarter.
• American Express recently reported its quarterly earnings, with $4.08 earnings per share (EPS), exceeding analyst estimates of $3.86, and revenue of $17.86 billion, which was above the expected $17.70 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized total of $3.28 and a yield of 1.1%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,841 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 10,303 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $7,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $296.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,316,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,359. The company has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. 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's 50-day moving average price is $306.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express 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.