PGIM Custom Harvest LLC Has $1.29 Million Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• PGIM Custom Harvest LLC increased its stake in American Express by 64.4%, acquiring an additional 1,874 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,786 shares valued at approximately $1.29 million.
• Insiders at American Express have recently sold significant amounts of stock, with Anna Marrs and Glenda G. Mcneal selling 5,500 and 50,000 shares, respectively, indicating a notable decrease in their ownership positions.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express shares from $260 to $342, while the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of $311.05.

PGIM Custom Harvest LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 64.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,786 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares during the quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $10.7930 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $318.9630. The stock had a trading volume of 2,784,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,357,253. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $308.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.89. The company has a market capitalization of $221.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were 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 was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.