Western Financial Corp CA Purchases 1,156 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,486 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.2% of Western Financial Corp CA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Western Financial Corp CA's holdings in American Express were worth $2,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AXP traded up $6.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $317.48. 4,605,056 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,835,928. The stock has a market cap of $222.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $288.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.05. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.