Narwhal Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in American Express by 17.6%, owning a total of 59,334 shares worth approximately $18.9 million, making it the firm's 15th largest position.
• Insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares for $15.5 million, representing an 82.03% decrease in her position, while CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares amounting to over $37 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for American Express, with Truist Financial's new target at $375 and Wells Fargo's at $375, indicating positive outlooks for the stock.

Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 17.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,334 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,876 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.5% of Narwhal Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in American Express were worth $18,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $126,119,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $320.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.26. The firm has a market cap of $227.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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