Maridea Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,082 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Maridea Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 59.1%, now holding 749 shares worth approximately $202,000.
• American Express reported strong quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing expectations and marking a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.06% with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Maridea Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 59.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 749 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,082 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

American Express Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of American Express stock traded down $6.71 on Friday, hitting $292.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,603,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,972,266. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $305.99 and a 200 day moving average of $291.53. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $203.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.