Haverford Trust Co Sells 1,507 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Haverford Trust Co has reduced its holdings in American Express by 8.3%, selling 1,507 shares and now owning 16,612 shares valued at approximately $4.47 million.
• Recent upgrades from investment analysts have seen American Express's target price rise, with Barclays and Deutsche Bank setting new price targets of $297 and $375 respectively.
• Insider trading activity has been significant, with two insiders, Laureen Seeger and Glenda G. Mcneal, selling a combined total of 66,998 shares valued at over $20 million.

Haverford Trust Co decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,612 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co's holdings in American Express were worth $4,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 18,268 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,422,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $318.9630 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $308.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.89. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. 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 has a market cap of $221.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm 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 revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis 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.

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.