Pathstone Holdings LLC Has $32.79 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,511 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,734 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $32,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $299.48. 2,958,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,838,859. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.02. 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. The stock has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.10%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.