American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 428,488 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 16,004 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.06% of American Express worth $127,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This 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 corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $300.22. 1,072,108 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,147,315. The company has a market cap of $210.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $264.02 and a 200 day moving average of $287.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

American Express 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.