J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Position in American Express Company $AXP

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,708 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,626 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. 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 report on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $362.52 on Wednesday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $377.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $321.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

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, 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 $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.