Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Acquires 1,141 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Generali Investments CEE increased its holdings in American Express by 3.7% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 1,141 shares, bringing their total to 32,066 shares valued at approximately $10.2 million.
• Facing notable insider selling, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares for over $37 million, decreasing his ownership position significantly.
• Research analysts have recently raised their price targets for American Express stock, with firm Wells Fargo setting a new target of $375, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,066 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 0.8% of Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s holdings in American Express were worth $10,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% during 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 buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the 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 $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% 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 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.80.

American Express Stock Down 2.9%

American Express stock opened at $332.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $318.79 and a 200-day moving average of $297.10.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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