Aspire Private Capital LLC Acquires 214 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $1,308,000. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in American Express by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 549,319 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $147,794,000 after buying an additional 80,033 shares during the period. Finally, Covea Finance bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $5,112,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $298.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $283.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

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.