American Express (NYSE:AXP) Insider Sells $4,765,295.26 in Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $3.59 on Thursday, reaching $318.84. 2,517,100 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,723,830. American Express has a 12-month low of $199.88 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $304.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.54.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in American Express by 105.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 19,400 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 5.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 978 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.2% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 848,960 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $196,577,000 after buying an additional 17,929 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth about $134,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $294.95.

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.