Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. has reduced its stake in American Express by 2.9% during the second quarter, now holding 56,165 shares worth approximately $17.9 million.
• Insider selling has been significant, with CEO Stephen J. Squeri disposing of 112,272 shares valued at about $37 million, representing a notable decrease in ownership.
• American Express recently reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding analyst expectations, along with a declared dividend of $0.82 per share to be paid on November 10th.

Equitable Trust Co. cut its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,165 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,674 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.9% of Equitable Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $17,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 297,091 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $94,766,000 after buying an additional 72,120 shares in the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the second quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 9,087 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.2% during the second quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in American Express by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 12,424 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,963,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a "cautious" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% 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.

American Express Stock Up 2.2%

AXP stock opened at $323.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $224.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.77. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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%.

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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