Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in American Express by 13.2%, now owning 17,444 shares valued at $5,564,000.
• American Express reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, exceeding estimates by $0.22, with revenues up 9.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a 1.0% dividend yield, payable on November 10th.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,444 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in American Express were worth $5,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.6%

American Express stock opened at $330.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $319.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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