Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in American Express by 1.6%, owning 678,570 shares valued at approximately $216.45 million after selling 10,978 shares in the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for American Express, with Barclays increasing their target from $297.00 to $336.00 and Morgan Stanley from $311.00 to $362.00, indicating a generally positive outlook.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an expected payout date of November 10th, representing a 1.0% dividend yield.

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 678,570 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 10,978 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.10% of American Express worth $216,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $321.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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