Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 13.6%, owning 20,855 shares valued at approximately $6.65 million.
• Insider selling activity was notable, with Laureen Seeger and Douglas E. Buckminster selling significant portions of their stock, amounting to nearly $86 million combined over the last 90 days.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 for investors of record on October 10th, reflecting a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,855 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $6,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AXP opened at $316.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.60.

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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