Strata Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,311 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Strata Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,867 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,311 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 1.1% of Strata Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its position in American Express by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 634 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research dropped their target price on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.74.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $319.49 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $223.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.