NorthRock Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, owning 18,206 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs Group, have also boosted their investments in American Express, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• American Express recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 1.0% yield, with the payment scheduled for November 10th.

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,206 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in 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. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 25.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.60.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.36. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.

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