Rep. Bruce Westerman Purchases Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

19 Apr 2025, 00:06 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP). In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in American Express stock on March 3rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) on 4/2/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) on 3/24/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) on 3/21/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BP (NYSE:BP) on 3/21/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 3/20/2025.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 3/20/2025.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 3/20/2025.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.44 on Friday, hitting $251.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,906,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,886,649. The company has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $218.84 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.04 and its 200 day moving average is $287.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Express

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in American Express by 293.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,523,000 after purchasing an additional 23,432 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.90.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXP

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

About American Express

(Get Free Report)

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.