American Express Company $AXP Position Cut by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in American Express by 9.6%, selling 34,617 shares, bringing its total holdings to 327,745 shares valued at approximately $107.5 million.
• Analysts have varying ratings on American Express, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20, while some firms like JPMorgan Chase & Co. have raised their target price to $342.00.
• In recent insider transactions, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares for about $7.67 million, highlighting the significant activity among insiders at the company.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,745 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 34,617 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $107,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

AXP traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $340.41. 8,629,534 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,346,006. The stock has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50 day moving average is $314.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $344.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

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.