UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 2,211 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in American Express by 2.0%, owning a total of 110,807 shares worth approximately $29.8 million.
• A number of analysts have revised their price targets for American Express, with Wells Fargo raising it to $375 and Barclays to $297, while DZ Bank downgraded to a "sell" rating.
• Insider selling activity included significant transactions from Laureen Seeger and Glenda G. Mcneal, with a total of 157,724 shares sold, amounting to over $48 million in value during the last quarter.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,807 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 2,211 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in American Express were worth $29,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $1,454,667,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% during 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 worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after buying an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $3.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. The stock had a trading volume of 649,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,874,977. The company's 50 day moving average price is $313.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The firm has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $313.45.

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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.