Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 4,080 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Fayez Sarofim & Co cut its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 215,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,080 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $68,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, December 1st. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $332.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This trade represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $361.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $377.23. The stock has a market cap of $249.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

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.