Strategic Advocates LLC Purchases 1,342 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Strategic Advocates LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 44.4%, acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the second quarter, bringing their total to 4,362 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• American Express recently received mixed ratings from analysts, with 8 analysts giving a Buy rating, while 15 assigned a Hold rating and 2 issued Sell ratings, resulting in an average price target of $315.20.
• Insider trading activity has seen significant sales, including CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling over 112,000 shares at approximately $329.86 per share, leading to a 54.74% decrease in his ownership position.

Strategic Advocates LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,362 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the first 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $187,337,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm'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 value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $340.41. 8,627,201 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,908,587. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $314.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.94. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $344.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $236.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.