American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Sells $729,842.76 in Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE AXP traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.62. 2,084,289 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,188,171. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $210.71.

About American Express

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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