Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 14,410 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 36.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,890 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 14,410 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delaney Dennis R lifted its stake in American Express by 73.6% during the second quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 3,542 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its position in American Express by 2.8% during the second quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,162 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 55,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $17,602,000 after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares in the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 148,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $47,365,000 after purchasing an additional 5,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. HSBC set a $295.00 price objective on American Express and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $316.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $322.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.36. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.