CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 790 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

CSM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,640 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 790 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research increased their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $368.90 on Monday. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $370.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $339.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.74.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.