SteelPeak Wealth LLC Acquires 19,153 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 625.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 19,153 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 2,922 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,220 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. BTIG Research upped their target price on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.55.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $370.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $366.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $387.49. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at $30,825,691.17. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.