American Express (NYSE:AXP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

American Express (NYSE:AXP) issued its earnings results on Friday. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. American Express updated its FY 2024 guidance to 12.650-13.150 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $12.65-$13.15 EPS.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $231.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $220.06 and its 200-day moving average is $188.35. The stock has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $231.69.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 2,214 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.5% in the first quarter. Frontier Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in American Express by 5.6% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,421 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Company Profile

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.