Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired 877 shares of American Express, valued at approximately $280,000, during the second quarter.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, to be paid on November 10th, with a dividend yield of 1.0%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on American Express, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $323.60, while recent upgrades have set targets as high as $394.00.

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 877 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% during the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $323.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.77. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $224.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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