Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 11,071 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in American Express by 21.3% during the first quarter, retaining holdings worth $10.87 million after selling over 11,000 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Wellington Management, have increased their holdings in American Express, with institutional ownership now at 84.33%.
• American Express recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $4.08, surpassing analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 21.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,913 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 11,071 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in American Express were worth $10,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Up 3.5%

AXP traded up $10.7930 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $318.9630. 2,784,219 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,357,253. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $308.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.89. The company has a market cap of $221.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.