ERn Financial LLC Has $221,000 Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• ERn Financial LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 80.2%, owning 692 shares worth $221,000 after selling 2,806 shares in the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own 84.33% of American Express stock, with Vanguard Group and Wellington Management increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, set to be paid on November 10th, which represents a 1.0% dividend yield.

ERn Financial LLC cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 80.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 692 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,806 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $342.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $317.46 and a 200-day moving average of $296.32. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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