Advisory Research Inc. Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 15th, 2023

American Express logo Advisory Research Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,062 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 2,754 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Frontier Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,485 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,345 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $5,186,216.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,270,054.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $5,186,216.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,270,054.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $163.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.21. The stock has a market cap of $121.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52 week low of $130.65 and a 52 week high of $194.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

American Express announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that permits the company to buyback 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the payment services company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Argus boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $180.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $159.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Stephens downgraded shares of American Express from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $134.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.44.

About American Express

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.