Kidder Stephen W Takes Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Kidder Stephen W has acquired a new position in American Express by purchasing 3,075 shares valued at approximately $981,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares for about $15.5 million, while CEO Stephen J. Squeri also sold 112,272 shares worth $37 million, indicating significant insider selling.
• American Express reported a 9.3% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, along with earnings per share surpassing analyst expectations, revealing strong financial performance for the company.

Kidder Stephen W acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,075 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $323.55.

American Express Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.76 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.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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