American Express Company $AXP Shares Bought by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,173 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,521 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 3.2% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $323.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $321.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.43. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.55.

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.