Catalina Capital Group LLC Sells 2,047 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Catalina Capital Group LLC reduced its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,309 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,047 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $280,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 224,971 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $60,528,000 after acquiring an additional 6,290 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.8% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,666 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in American Express by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 9,599 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 21.2% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 395 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AXP traded up $3.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $296.54. The stock had a trading volume of 3,690,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,396. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

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.