American Express Company $AXP Position Boosted by Optas LLC

Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,429 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $324.09 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid 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 is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Company 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.