Optimize Financial Inc Makes New Investment in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in American Express, purchasing 1,334 shares valued at approximately $359,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. and Tyler Stone Wealth Management, have also increased their positions in American Express, demonstrating strong interest from the investment community.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share with a yield of 1.0%.

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,334 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,000,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,247. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $332.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $313.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, 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 a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.45.

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.