Baxter Bros Inc. Acquires 4,521 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Baxter Bros Inc. increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,173 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,521 shares during the period. American Express comprises 3.2% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.3%

AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $321.23 and a 200 day moving average of $299.43. The company has a market cap of $225.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.55.

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.