Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $359,000 Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,126 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.95.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $330.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 payout ratio is 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.