Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP acquired 9,819 shares of American Express, valued at approximately $2.64 million, during the first quarter, marking an increase in institutional investment in the company.
• Insider trading activities were reported, with notable sales including Laureen Seeger selling over 61,000 shares and Glenda G. Mcneal selling 50,000 shares, which significantly reduced their ownership stakes.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings beat with earnings per share at $4.08, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and a revenue growth of 9.3% year-over-year.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,819 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.2%

American Express stock traded down $3.6760 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $315.4840. 1,009,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,912,525. The business has a fifty day moving average of $308.48 and a 200 day moving average of $289.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $219.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. 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 earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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.