American Express Company $AXP Position Increased by Defined Financial Planning LLC

Defined Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 921 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Defined Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $320.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.06. 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 twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.90.

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.