Private Wealth Asset Management LLC Sells 4,952 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Private Wealth Asset Management LLC sold 4,952 shares of American Express, reducing its stake by 56.4% and now holds 3,831 shares valued at approximately $1,222,000.
• American Express recently reported earnings of $4.08 per share, beating estimates, with a revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, representing a 9.3% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, indicating a current dividend yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Private Wealth Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 56.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,831 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,952 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 2.9%

AXP opened at $332.62 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $323.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock 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 stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

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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