American Express Company $AXP Shares Purchased by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 30.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,339 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. HSBC set a $295.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $366.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $348.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.82. The firm has a market cap of $252.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $377.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.01%.

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.