Invst LLC Sells 3,433 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Invst LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 37.9%, selling 3,433 shares, leaving them with 5,617 shares valued at $1.51 million.
• Insider selling was significant, with Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster selling 23,505 shares and CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling 112,272 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective ownership stakes.
• American Express reported a strong earnings performance with $4.08 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and a revenue increase of 9.3% year-over-year.

Invst LLC lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 37.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,617 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,433 shares during the period. Invst LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $329.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company's fifty day moving average price is $313.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. 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 data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

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.

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