Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Has $3.39 Million Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 9.5%, owning 10,617 shares valued at approximately $3.39 million.
• American Express's stock is currently rated with nine Buy ratings, thirteen Hold ratings, and three Sell ratings, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $323.60.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 10th.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,617 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction 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 $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $332.62 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect 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 given 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 payout ratio is 23.02%.

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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