Pavion Blue Capital LLC Reduces Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Pavion Blue Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,551 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 4.2% of Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Pavion Blue Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.8% during the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.8% during the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in American Express by 4.7% during the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank raised its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 222,011 shares of company stock valued at $70,725,044 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $361.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $249.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $362.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $331.71 and its 200-day moving average is $307.38.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.