Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 3,667 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,105 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,667 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in American Express were worth $39,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $897,000. Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in American Express by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,717 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $361.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.13. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $377.23. The company has a market capitalization of $249.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.01%.

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.