American Express Company $AXP Position Lifted by Valueworks LLC

Valueworks LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,687 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.1% of Valueworks LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Valueworks LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 225,697 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $60,724,000 after acquiring an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,976 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Allstate Corp boosted its stake in American Express by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 25,861 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,958,000 after acquiring an additional 8,936 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Up 3.5%

AXP stock opened at $318.9630 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $308.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.10. The stock has a market cap of $221.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901 in 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.