Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Grows Position in American Express Company $AXP

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,171 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,116 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,184,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $323.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $349.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $322.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.77.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Nine investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

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.