American Express Company $AXP Shares Sold by Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,578 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. American Express makes up 1.6% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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 value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.55.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $327.61 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.26. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 announced 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 is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis 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.