American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Golden State Wealth Management LLC

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 121.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,681 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,758 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $308.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,467,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,828,755. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $285.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $216.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid 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 1.06%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction 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 $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% 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 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

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.