Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,719 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,022 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $75,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 3,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,059 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $894,359.15. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $366.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $377.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.82. The company has a market capitalization of $252.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 $17.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

American Express 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.