Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $359,000 Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,126 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 992 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 28.5% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,257 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 16.8% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $330.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.95.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% 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.