Stone Summit Wealth LLC Acquires 157 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Stone Summit Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,811 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.6% of Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Stone Summit Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in American Express by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $342.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $317.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.05. The company has a market cap of $238.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.