816 Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO acquired a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 816 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, 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 company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $311.75 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $218.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $287.57 and its 200 day moving average is $288.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued 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 yield of 1.05%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

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.

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