Anna Marrs Sells 3,592 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $236.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $225.31 and a 200-day moving average of $196.14. The stock has a market cap of $169.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.9% during the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,995 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 258.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,162 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.