Kestra Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 18.9%, selling 1,104 shares, while holding a total of 4,745 shares valued at approximately $1.22 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 157,724 shares of American Express worth over $48 million in the last quarter, with significant individual sales including 5,500 shares by Anna Marrs and 50,000 shares by Glenda G. Mcneal.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 1.0% annualized dividend yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 23.02%.

Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,745 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,104 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $313.45.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $323.46. 1,846,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,295,366. The firm has a market cap of $225.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.47. 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 data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.