Westend Capital Management LLC Buys 982 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 33,705 shares valued at approximately $10.75 million.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for American Express, with Morgan Stanley increasing it from $250.00 to $311.00, while Wells Fargo now has a target of $375.00, signaling positive market sentiment.
• Despite recent insider selling, where CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares, American Express reported robust quarterly earnings, surpassing EPS expectations with $4.08, up from $3.49 the previous year.

Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,705 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 3.3% of Westend Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Westend Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $10,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $341.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,327,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,350. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $345.51. The company has a market cap of $237.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50-day moving average is $315.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.01. 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 (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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

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.