King Luther Capital Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 608,771 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,901 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $194,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 worth $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the first 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 valued at $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $368.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $254.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $339.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.36. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $370.00.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. DZ Bank raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $332.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.