Focus Partners Wealth Has $49.06 Million Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth reduced its holdings in American Express by 7%, ending with 182,334 shares worth approximately $49.06 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider sales included Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster selling 23,505 shares for $7.67 million, indicating a 15.98% decrease in his ownership.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.08, exceeding estimates and marking a 9.3% revenue increase year-over-year.

Focus Partners Wealth lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 182,334 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 13,777 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in American Express were worth $49,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $323.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $225.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $332.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $313.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.47.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

American Express Company 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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