Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $2.23 Million in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,285 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $3.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $296.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,690,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,393. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.