ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 79,542 shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), valued at approximately $21.4 million, in the first quarter.
• American Express reported $4.08 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.86, with a revenue of $17.86 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 23.02%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 79,542 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $21,401,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 152,682 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $44,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Capital Management raised its holdings in American Express by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 38,626 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $11,464,000 after acquiring an additional 8,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% 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 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.9%

AXP stock traded up $2.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $297.41. 1,778,023 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,640,008. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $306.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

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.