Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Raises Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 32.3%, now holding 8,205 shares valued at approximately $2.21 million.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares for over $37 million, resulting in a 54.74% decrease in his ownership position.
• American Express recently announced a $0.82 quarterly dividend, with a yield of 1.0%, and has a market cap of $229.24 billion.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 32.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,205 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors 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 in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $327.28. 1,646,247 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,876,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $313.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $332.46.

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. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for 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%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.