American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,207 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,764 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $244.86. The company had a trading volume of 142,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,996,411. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $253.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, 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 transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.