Earned Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $385,000 Investment in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Earned Wealth Advisors LLC made a new investment of approximately $385,000 in American Express, buying 1,431 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider activity included major sell-offs, with Howard Grosfield selling 9,450 shares for over $2.6 million and Glenda G. Mcneal selling 50,000 shares valued at about $15.5 million.
• American Express reported a Q2 earnings result of $4.08 EPS, surpassing estimates and showing a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Earned Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,431 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $295.46. 3,427,909 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,589,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The business's 50-day moving average is $306.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.14.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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