Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 260.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,354 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.8% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $316.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. 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 Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $322.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.00.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.