Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Buys 1,102 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,360 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $311.60 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $304.91 and a 200 day moving average of $291.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $216.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company 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%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express 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.