CX Institutional Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• CX Institutional reduced its stake in American Express Company by 60.0%, now holding 15,750 shares valued at approximately $5 million after selling over 23,000 shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold over 112,000 shares valued at around $37 million, representing a 54.74% decrease in his ownership.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

CX Institutional trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,750 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 23,629 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in American Express were worth $5,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:AXP opened at $340.53 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. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a market cap of $236.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

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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