Diversified Trust Co Trims Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Diversified Trust Co reduced its stake in American Express Company by 4.5%, now holding 42,914 shares valued at approximately $13.7 million.
• American Express reported $4.08 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.22, with a 9.3% year-over-year revenue growth to $17.86 billion.
• Currently, 84.33% of American Express shares are owned by institutional investors, with mixed ratings from analysts holding an average price target of $315.20.

Diversified Trust Co decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,914 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,013 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in American Express were worth $13,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $340.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $314.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $344.36.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 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 research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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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