Calamos Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,597 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Calamos Wealth Management LLC has increased its stake in American Express by 3.0%, acquiring an additional 1,597 shares, bringing its total holdings to 55,449 shares valued at approximately $17.7 million.
• Insider trading reports show that CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares for over $37 million, representing a 54.74% decrease in his ownership, while other insiders also sold significant amounts of stock.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for American Express, with Wells Fargo and Truist both setting targets of $375.00 and maintaining optimistic ratings of "overweight" and "buy" respectively.

Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,449 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,597 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 0.7% of Calamos Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $17,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in American Express by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its position in American Express by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell 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 $323.60.

American Express Trading Up 7.2%

NYSE:AXP opened at $346.45 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $241.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $325.64 and its 200 day moving average is $302.28. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.

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