Howard Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in American Express Company $AXP

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,818 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 2.8% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the second quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $361.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.18. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $362.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 222,011 shares of company stock worth $70,725,044 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65.

American Express Company 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.