Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Purchases Shares of 1,503 American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Koss Olinger Consulting LLC has purchased 1,503 shares of American Express, valued at approximately $404,000, during the first quarter.
• Major institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their stakes in American Express, with Vanguard now holding over 45 million shares worth approximately $12.33 billion.
• American Express reported strong financial results, with $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.22, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.3%.

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,503 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, 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 value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% 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 Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $297.41 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $306.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.69. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $206.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

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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