Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 96,891 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $26,069,000.
Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth $523,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 17.9% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,525 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $8,482,000 after buying an additional 4,795 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.3% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 38.1% in the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of American Express by 9.2% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 593,152 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $159,592,000 after buying an additional 49,993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at American Express
In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
American Express Trading Down 0.4%
Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $296.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,316,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,359. The company has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $306.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.28.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.
American Express Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AXP
American Express Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider American Express, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and American Express wasn't on the list.
While American Express currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking for the next FAANG stock before everyone has heard about it? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts think might become the next trillion dollar tech company.
Get This Free Report
MarketBeat All Access