PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,061,823 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,413 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.15% of American Express worth $338,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,849,777,000 after buying an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. boosted its holdings in American Express by 136.6% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 1,108,971 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $353,740,000 after acquiring an additional 640,214 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.6%

AXP stock opened at $370.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $341.23 and a 200 day moving average of $316.19. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $373.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings cut American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.