American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Reduced by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,939 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 879 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in American Express were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $3.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $307.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 669,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,888. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $304.19 and a 200-day moving average of $291.04. The stock has a market cap of $215.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.