VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems has acquired a new stake in American Express, purchasing 48,700 shares valued at approximately $15.5 million.
• American Express reported an EPS of $4.14 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, with a revenue of $18.43 billion, marking an 11% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 22.01%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 48,700 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $15,534,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in 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 raised its stake in 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 valued at $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 valued at $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a "cautious" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.60.

American Express Stock Up 7.2%

AXP stock opened at $346.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. The business's fifty day moving average price is $325.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.66. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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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