Jacobi Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Jacobi Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,524 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,020 shares during the quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,205 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,208,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 876 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $579,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $323.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $313.32 and a 200-day moving average of $291.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $225.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.45.

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.