Insider Selling: American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Sells 3,141 Shares of Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $234.62 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in American Express by 1.0% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. HTLF Bank lifted its position in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 6,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. CIC Wealth LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.2% in the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.