Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 41,074 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (AXP) by 78.6% during the second quarter, leaving it with 11,198 shares valued at approximately $3.57 million.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares for over $37 million, which led to a 54.74% decrease in his ownership of the stock.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, beating estimates and showing a 9.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 78.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,198 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 41,074 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company'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 value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $340.41. The company had a trading volume of 8,629,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,350. 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 $314.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.53. The firm has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $344.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.