Scientech Research LLC Takes $1.89 Million Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) by purchasing 7,027 shares valued at approximately $1.89 million, making it the firm's 17th largest investment.
• Insiders at American Express saw significant stock sales, with Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster selling over $7.67 million worth of shares, representing a drastic decrease in his ownership by nearly 16%.
• American Express' stock has fluctuated recently, opening at $326.37 and experiencing a 1.3% decline; the firm reported a 12-month high of $332.46 and had a quarterly earnings report that exceeded analyst expectations.

Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,027 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,891,000. American Express makes up 0.5% of Scientech Research LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in American Express by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $313.45.

American Express Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $3.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. 649,192 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,874,977. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $313.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.71. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $332.46. The company has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given 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 is 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.