American Express Company $AXP Stock Position Boosted by Defined Financial Planning LLC

Defined Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 921 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Defined Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the first 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 buying an additional 965,221 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.90.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.06.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.