Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Purchases New Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Winthrop Advisory Group LLC has acquired a new stake in American Express, purchasing 1,522 shares valued at about $485,000 in the second quarter.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.86, and demonstrated a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with the payout date set for November 10th, representing a 1.0% yield and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,522 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The firm has a market cap of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a "cautious" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $323.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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