Pure Financial Advisors LLC Buys 865 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 32.3%, acquiring an additional 865 shares, bringing its total holdings to 3,541 shares worth approximately $1,129,000.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $17.86 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with the payout scheduled for November 10th, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 32.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,541 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $126,119,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $330.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $230.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $319.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express 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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