American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Lessened by VeraBank N.A.

VeraBank N.A. decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,791 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in American Express were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in American Express by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 368.7% during the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $295.46 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $306.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.17. The company has a market capitalization of $205.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.