Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,793 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $28,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, October 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $360.70 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $335.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.37. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $365.75. The company has a market cap of $248.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

American Express 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.