Hager Investment Management Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $323.86 on Thursday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $321.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.43. The company has a market cap of $225.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.29.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.55.

About American Express

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.