Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,816 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $225,000. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,019,000. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 2,787 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $889,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $359,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 11,189 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,569,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $360.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $365.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $335.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 222,011 shares of company stock worth $70,725,044 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC set a $295.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

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.