American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Buckley Wealth Management LLC

Buckley Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,151 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIC Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $3.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $231.46. 1,130,294 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,035,369. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.26. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The stock has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

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.