Swedbank AB Decreases Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its holdings in American Express by 5.1%, selling 19,513 shares and now owning approximately 0.05% of the company valued at $117 million.
• Insider transactions show significant selling activity, with notable sales by Anna Marrs and Laureen Seeger that decreased their ownership by 21.31% and 87.27%, respectively.
• American Express reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $4.08, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has an average price target of $315.20, with mixed ratings from analysts.

Swedbank AB lessened its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,826 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 19,513 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.05% of American Express worth $117,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted 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 buying an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE AXP opened at $341.90 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $237.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $342.47. The firm's fifty day moving average is $314.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.94.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

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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