Cidel Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,570 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in American Express by 42.0% in the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in American Express by 29.1% in the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,470 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 2.1% in the second quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,376 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 608.4% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,890 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,635 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $261,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% 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, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 7.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $346.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $241.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.69. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $349.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $325.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $18.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 $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 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research reissued a “sell” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.60.

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.