Rice Partnership LLC Reduces Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Rice Partnership LLC has reduced its position in American Express by 17.0%, selling 9,995 shares and holding 48,673 shares, which now represent 2.7% of its investment portfolio.
• American Express recently reported $4.08 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.86, with revenue for the quarter reaching $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with an ex-dividend date on October 10th, representing a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Rice Partnership LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,673 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 9,995 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 2.7% of Rice Partnership LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $15,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market cap of $225.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.55.

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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