TFB Advisors LLC has increased its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) by 7.4% during the second quarter of 2023. According to Holdings Channel, the institutional investor now owns 970 shares of the payment services giant after acquiring an additional 67 shares. At the close of the quarter, TFB Advisors’ stake in American Express was valued at approximately $309,000.
Several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in American Express. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, now holding 6,481 shares worth $1.924 million after purchasing an extra 1,273 shares. Similarly, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings by 3.1% in the first quarter, owning 8,039 shares valued at $2.163 million following the acquisition of 238 additional shares.
Global Assets Advisory LLC entered the fold by purchasing new shares worth $638,000 in the same quarter. E&G Advisors LP also increased its position by 8.7%, now owning 1,251 shares valued at $337,000 after acquiring 100 more shares. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake by 4.1%, holding 4,036 shares valued at $1.086 million after buying 159 additional shares. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors hold approximately 84.33% of American Express stock.
Analysts on Wall Street have expressed varying sentiments regarding American Express. Morgan Stanley recently raised its target price from $311.00 to $362.00 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on July 14, 2023. Other analysts, including those from Truist Financial and Wells Fargo & Company, have also increased their target prices, with Truist setting a target of $395.00 and Wells Fargo raising theirs to $400.00.
Currently, American Express has received nine “Buy” ratings, fourteen “Hold” ratings, and one “Sell” rating from analysts, leading to a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $332.65 according to MarketBeat.com.
Stock Performance and Earnings Report
As of Thursday, AXP shares opened at $351.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61, and a quick ratio of 1.69. American Express has a market capitalization of $242.25 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23.60, and a beta of 1.29. The stock has fluctuated between a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $357.73.
In its most recent earnings report, released on October 17, 2023, American Express reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.14 for the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $3.98 by $0.16. The company achieved a revenue of $18.43 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. With a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%, revenue increased by 11.0% year-over-year. The company has projected its FY 2025 EPS guidance to be between $15.200 and $15.500.
Dividend Announcement and Insider Transactions
American Express has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, scheduled for payment on November 10, 2023. Shareholders on record as of October 10, 2023, will receive this dividend. This equates to an annualized dividend of $3.28 with a yield of 0.9%. The company’s payout ratio currently stands at 22.01%.
In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock on August 5, 2023, at an average price of $297.47, resulting in a transaction valued at approximately $18.36 million. Following this sale, Seeger retained 9,001 shares valued at around $2.68 million. Additionally, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares on September 2, 2023, at an average price of $326.37, totaling approximately $7.67 million. After this transaction, he owned 123,613 shares valued at about $40.34 million. In total, insiders have sold 269,996 shares worth approximately $85.26 million in the past three months, with insiders presently owning 0.20% of the company’s stock.
American Express, headquartered in the United States, operates as an integrated payments company across various regions, including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean. The company functions through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.
