Westpac Banking Corp Sells 1,183 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in American Express by 19.4%, selling 1,183 shares, and now owns 4,910 shares valued at approximately $1,321,000.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on American Express, with two sell ratings, sixteen hold ratings, and eight buy ratings; the consensus price target is currently $311.05.
• American Express reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $17.86 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 9.3%.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,910 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings 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 worth $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 worth $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after acquiring an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $305.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,727,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,199. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $307.17 and a 200 day moving average of $290.42. The company has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.