Zullo Investment Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Zullo Investment Group Inc. has reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE: AXP) by 45.7%, resulting in ownership of 1,888 shares valued at approximately $603,000 after selling 1,586 shares in the second quarter.
• American Express reported a profit of $4.08 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $3.86, while also achieving record revenues of $17.86 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, payable on November 10th, translating to an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Zullo Investment Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,888 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,586 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

AXP stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company 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%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $323.60.

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.

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