Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,153 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,688 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $299.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $284.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.56.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. 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 will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.