Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 11,852 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,544 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,852 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $47,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 6.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 575,969 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $159,267,000 after acquiring an additional 35,211 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $177,097,000 after acquiring an additional 28,371 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 3,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $0.89 on Wednesday, reaching $276.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,329,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,828,527. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $263.38 and a 200-day moving average of $286.82. The company has a market capitalization of $193.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

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.