SLT Holdings LLC Buys 240 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

SLT Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 31.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,008 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the quarter. SLT Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE AXP opened at $316.27 on Friday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $322.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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 upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

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.