Veracity Capital LLC Buys 38 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Veracity Capital LLC grew its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,455 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.8% of Veracity Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $327.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $313.38 and a 200 day moving average of $292.08. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $332.46. The firm has a market cap of $227.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.