Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Has $4.13 Million Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lessened its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,365 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.6% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $323.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $225.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $332.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.47.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.45.

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.