Ransom Advisory Ltd Invests $1.60 Million in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd invested $1.60 million in American Express by acquiring 5,946 shares in the 1st quarter, as reported in a recent 13F filing.
• American Express posted earnings of $4.08 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the expected $3.86, with revenues reaching $17.86 billion, a 9.3% increase from the previous year.
• Insiders, including CEO Stephen J. Squeri, sold significant shares of American Express stock, raising concerns about ownership with insiders holding only 0.20% of shares post-sale.

Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,946 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,600,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.3%

AXP stock opened at $324.41 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $332.46. The firm has a market cap of $225.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $313.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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