Legacy Trust Sells 2,372 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Legacy Trust reduced its holdings in American Express by 7.6%, owning 28,814 shares worth approximately $9.19 million after selling 2,372 shares in the second quarter.
• Several large investors, including Principal Financial Group Inc. and Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc., increased their stakes in American Express during the first quarter, reflecting continued investor interest.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, showcasing its commitment to returning value to shareholders with a yield of 1.0%.

Legacy Trust lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,814 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,372 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 2.3% of Legacy Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Legacy Trust's holdings in American Express were worth $9,191,000 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 purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.95.

American Express Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $330.10 on Friday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $320.01 and a 200 day moving average of $298.43. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid 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 is Friday, October 10th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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