Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Sells 2,748 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. reduced its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,149 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,748 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $52,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. This represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 222,011 shares of company stock worth $70,725,044 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $358.73 on Friday. 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 moving average of $334.81 and a 200 day moving average of $309.27. The firm has a market cap of $247.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $365.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

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.