Clarius Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Clarius Group LLC has reduced its holdings in American Express by 17.6% in the second quarter, now owning 4,204 shares valued at approximately $1.34 million.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenues showing a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.0%, set to be paid on November 10th.

Clarius Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,204 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 897 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Accel Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.7% during the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 1,806 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the second quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 6,170 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 4.8% during the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,750 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.5% during the second quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 6,852 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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