Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• American Express (NYSE:AXP) experienced a surge in options trading, with investors purchasing 14,817 call options, marking a 22% increase from its average daily volume.
• Equities analysts have increased their target prices for American Express, with Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, and Truist Financial all setting price targets at $375, indicating strong growth expectations.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Stephen J. Squeri selling 112,272 shares, reducing his ownership by over 54%, amidst broader trends of insider selling at the company.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 14,817 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 22% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,177 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.26 on Friday, reaching $340.41. 8,629,534 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,346,006. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $344.36. The firm's 50-day moving average is $314.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $236.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.