Aspen Investment Management Inc Increases Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Aspen Investment Management Inc lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,678 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth $41,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Eight 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $340.63 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $344.15 and its 200 day moving average is $319.23. The firm has a market cap of $234.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. 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 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $377.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.