American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lifted by Trajan Wealth LLC

Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 307,398 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $82,705,000 after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $2,583,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 2,137 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WP Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 16,572 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,459,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $296.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.28. 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 Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $206.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.05.

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.