American Express (NYSE:AXP) CEO Stephen J. Squeri Sells 38,873 Shares of Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $237.10 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.11 and its 200 day moving average is $190.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

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.