Townsquare Capital LLC Acquires 4,795 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has increased its stake in American Express by 17.9% in the first quarter, owning 31,525 shares valued at approximately $8.48 million.
• A range of institutional investors have also raised their positions in American Express, with 84.33% of the company's stock now held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• American Express reported a beat in its quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $4.08, exceeding estimates by $0.22 and achieving a revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter.

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,525 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,795 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $8,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.3% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 38.1% during the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,257 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in American Express by 9.2% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 593,152 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $159,592,000 after purchasing an additional 49,993 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,390,625 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $374,148,000 after acquiring an additional 131,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.16 on Monday, reaching $296.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,316,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,624,359. 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 Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $306.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped 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 report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express 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.