Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC significantly reduced its shares in American Express Company by 87.9%, owning just 287 shares after selling 2,081 shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express, resulting in a 54.74% decrease in his ownership of the stock, while other insiders also reduced their stakes.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with eight recommending Buy, fourteen suggesting Hold, and three rating it Sell, along with a consensus price target of $323.55.

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 287 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,081 shares during the quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $485,000. Puzo Michael J boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Puzo Michael J now owns 7,769 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 4,866 shares during the last quarter. Broderick Brian C boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 138.8% in the second quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 5,868 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,872,000 after buying an additional 3,411 shares during the last quarter. Kidder Stephen W purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $981,000. Finally, Hendley & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 12.4% in the second quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 3,390 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.55.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $320.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company 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%.American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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