KG&L Capital Management LLC Sells 3,486 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• KG&L Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 70.3%, selling 3,486 shares, and now holds 1,473 shares valued at approximately $470,000.
• In the most recent quarter, American Express reported $4.08 EPS, exceeding expectations, with revenues of $17.86 billion, marking a 9.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, set to be paid on November 10th, which reflects an annualized yield of 1.0%.

KG&L Capital Management LLC lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 70.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,473 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:AXP opened at $342.07 on Friday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $317.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

About American Express

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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