Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in American Express by 7.3% in the second quarter, now holding 84,483 shares valued at approximately $26.9 million.
• Insider sales at American Express were notable, with a total of 269,996 shares sold worth about $85.3 million over the last 90 days.
• American Express plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.82 on November 10th, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,483 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,783 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 1.7% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in American Express were worth $26,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 104.0% in the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $320.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.24. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19.

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. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.95.

About American Express

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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