American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,542 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,420 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $6,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. GHE LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in American Express by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,424,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,844,216. The stock has a market cap of $222.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $297.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $298.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was 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 insiders.

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.