Herbst Group LLC Purchases 51 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Herbst Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,243 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. American Express comprises 2.1% of Herbst Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Herbst Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,116,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the second quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,073 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $382,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.9% in the second quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,993 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $246,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $340.86 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $316.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $237.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This trade represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.20.

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.