Trajan Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC has increased its stake in American Express by 13.9%, owning nearly 16,000 shares valued at approximately $4.3 million.
• American Express reported an EPS of $4.08 for the quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.22, along with a 9.3% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.1% with a low payout ratio of 23.02%.

Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,987 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $4,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,661 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,362,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $307.83. 2,107,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,946,610. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $306.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.48. 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 $214.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.