Howard Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,818 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in American Express by 24.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in American Express by 12.5% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,438 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 13,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,592,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $361.41 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $362.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% 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, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 222,011 shares of company stock valued at $70,725,044 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $332.65.

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.