American Express Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AXP)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 23rd, 2023

American Express logo American Express (NYSE:AXP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 33,847 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 75% compared to the average volume of 19,298 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of American Express from $186.00 to $181.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Express from $179.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $158.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.41.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $155.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. American Express has a twelve month low of $130.65 and a twelve month high of $182.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The payment services company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by ($0.26). American Express had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 29.44%. The company had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that authorizes the company to buyback 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the payment services company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total transaction of $952,181.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,374,644.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Macroview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Elequin Securities LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. My Personal CFO LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 288.9% during the 4th quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 83.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.