American Express Company $AXP Shares Purchased by Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 637 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.7% during the second quarter. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC now owns 35,303 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $11,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the second quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.20.

American Express Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $327.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $313.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.32. The stock has a market cap of $227.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express 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.