Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Invests $1.18 Million in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,387 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,180,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:AXP traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,149,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,726,029. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $304.91 and a 200 day moving average of $291.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

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.