American Express (NYSE:AXP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 1,058,508 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 3,049,374 shares.The stock last traded at $224.15 and had previously closed at $217.50.

The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Express

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 3.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.79. The company has a market cap of $162.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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.