Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $3.78 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,856 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in American Express were worth $3,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Trust Co. acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $126,119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $330.75 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $324.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.19. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19. The firm has a market cap of $230.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. 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 announced its earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

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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