Phoenix Financial Ltd. Buys New Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. recently acquired a new position in American Express, purchasing 852 shares valued at approximately $230,000 during the first quarter.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.22, with revenues totaling $17.86 billion.
• The company's latest quarterly dividend is set at $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.05% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 852 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westover Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 4.4% during the first quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the first quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 2,775,682 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $746,797,000 after buying an additional 11,014 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 7.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 74,337 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $20,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,264 shares during the last quarter. Elefante Mark B acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in American Express by 11.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 160,883 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $43,285,000 after purchasing an additional 16,218 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $305.20. 696,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,966,677. 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 market capitalization of $212.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.44. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14.

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 firm 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 earned $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.