Bank of Nova Scotia Trims Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,105 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,667 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in American Express were worth $39,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,425,262 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,808,730,000 after purchasing an additional 581,369 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,282,984,000 after buying an additional 1,349,746 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $1,897,335,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.6% during 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 worth $1,370,489,000 after buying an additional 78,538 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, October 20th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $332.65.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $361.96 on Tuesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $351.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.13. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $377.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 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 business had revenue of $17.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. During the same period last 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 anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 57,515 shares of company stock worth $20,658,509 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.