IFP Advisors Inc Lowers Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

IFP Advisors Inc trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,120 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,640 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in American Express were worth $3,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $323.60.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% 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, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value 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 trade represents a 15.98% 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 ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 2.5%

American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The business's 50-day moving average price is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company 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%.American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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