Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Cuts Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,700 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.9% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in American Express by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,039 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $737,000. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in American Express by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Finally, GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $1,308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.60.

American Express Stock Up 7.2%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $346.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $325.64 and a 200 day moving average of $302.66. The firm has a market cap of $241.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.