Greenleaf Trust Has $5.33 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust reduced its holdings in American Express by 22%, bringing its total shares to 16,705, valued at approximately $5.33 million.
• Recent insider transactions included Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster selling 23,505 shares for over $7.67 million, representing a significant decrease in ownership.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for American Express, with Truist Financial and Deutsche Bank both setting targets at $375, indicating a bullish sentiment around the stock.

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,705 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,711 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in American Express were worth $5,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in 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 stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $317.75.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $342.26 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $318.24 and its 200 day moving average is $296.86. 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 market capitalization of $238.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a PEG 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during 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%. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AXP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.