Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express by 10.7%, reducing its position to 11,879 shares valued at approximately $3.78 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in American Express, with Brighton Jones LLC boosting its position by 24.4% in the fourth quarter.
• American Express recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, indicating a 1.0% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,879 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,420 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.7% of Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in American Express by 15.9% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 1,073 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 80.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,545 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 4,244 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,039 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 24.1% in the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $323.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $321.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.43. 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 fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The company has a market capitalization of $225.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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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