Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $17,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.0% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 148,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $47,365,000 after purchasing an additional 5,648 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 17.3% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 31,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,203,000 after purchasing an additional 4,709 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 26.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 60,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $19,445,000 after purchasing an additional 12,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $322.16 and its 200 day moving average is $300.36. 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 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.60.

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.