Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Increases Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC has increased its stake in American Express Company ($AXP) by 14.7% during the second quarter, owning approximately 11,727 shares valued at $3,741,000.
• A recent analysis revealed a consensus price target of $321.90 for American Express, with eight analysts rating it as a Buy and three giving a Sell rating.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 10th, contributing to an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,727 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $321.90.

American Express Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $320.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.06. The company has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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