Simon Quick Advisors LLC Trims Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 649 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,158 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,897,335,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 31,595.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,742,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $555,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,513 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 11.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,282,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,746 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,125,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $988,676,000 after purchasing an additional 646,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provident Trust Co. lifted its position in American Express by 136.6% during the second quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $353,740,000 after purchasing an additional 640,214 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Express from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $335.55.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $372.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $367.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.15. 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 Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Company Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.