Stephen Squeri Sells 112,272 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Stephen Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock at an average price of $329.86, reducing his stake by 54.74%.
• American Express reported a net margin of 14.78% and a earnings per share of $4.08 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share on August 8th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) CEO Stephen Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

American Express Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AXP stock traded down $0.78 on Monday, hitting $325.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,264,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,303,705. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $226.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $313.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.81.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $1,897,335,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 31,595.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $555,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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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