Vest Financial LLC Purchases 5,648 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 4.0%, acquiring an additional 5,648 shares to raise its total ownership to 148,490 shares, valued at approximately $47,365,000.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.22, with revenue increasing by 9.3% year-over-year to $17.86 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a payout ratio of 23.02%, to be paid to investors on November 10th.

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,490 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,648 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $47,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.36. The firm has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Company 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.

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