FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Has $9.41 Million Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Long Beach increased its stake in American Express by 11.4% during the second quarter, now holding 29,491 shares valued at approximately $9.41 million.
• American Express reported a Q2 revenue of $17.86 billion, exceeding estimates, with an EPS of $4.08, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.86.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, payable on November 10th, which reflects a yield of 1.0% based on current stock prices.

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,491 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,019 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 2.0% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings in American Express were worth $9,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the first 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 during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 1.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American Express by 6.4% in 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 buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $342.07 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.46 and a 200 day simple 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company 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.

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