Motco Has $455,000 Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Motco raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,692 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in American Express were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $311.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $216.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.

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.