Sargent Investment Group LLC Acquires 1,158 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,913 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the first quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:AXP opened at $308.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.09.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.68.

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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