National Pension Service Has $298.92 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its holdings in American Express Company by 2.6% during Q1, now owning over 1.1 million shares worth approximately $298.9 million.
• American Express reported earnings of $4.08 per share, exceeding expectations of $3.86, with quarterly revenue rising 9.3% year-over-year to $17.86 billion.
• Insider trading included significant sales, with Anna Marrs and Glenda G. Mcneal selling 5,500 and 50,000 shares respectively, representing substantial decreases in their holdings.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,111,002 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,552 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of American Express worth $298,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,661 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $2.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,727,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,360. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $307.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.