First National Trust Co Decreases Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• First National Trust Co decreased its stake in American Express by 13.0%, now holding 7,465 shares valued at $2,008,000.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a revenue increase of 9.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, with a payout ratio of 23.02%, to be distributed on August 8th.

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,465 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,120 shares during the period. First National Trust Co's holdings in American Express were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 368.7% during the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,679,000 after acquiring an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $3.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $298.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,052,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,968,922. The stock has a market cap of $207.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted 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. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,950 shares of company stock valued at $19,787,710 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

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.