Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $84.52 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.2%, now owning 314,151 shares valued at approximately $84.52 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also significantly increased their stakes in American Express, with notable increases from Brighton Jones LLC (24.4%) and Federated Hermes Inc. (29.9%).
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, exceeding expectations, with revenue reaching $17.86 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 314,151 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $84,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 290,864 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $86,326,000 after purchasing an additional 66,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $306.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

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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