Talon Private Wealth LLC Takes $764,000 Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Talon Private Wealth LLC invested approximately $764,000 in American Express by acquiring 2,839 shares during the first quarter, according to their recent SEC filing.
• American Express reported strong quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.86, with revenue totaling $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 23.02%.

Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,839 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $764,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, 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 insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $3.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $325.80. 694,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,875,438. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $313.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $313.45.

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.