American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Decreased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its stake in American Express by 0.2%, leaving it with 1,068,236 shares valued at approximately $287.4 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on American Express, with 16 hold ratings, 8 buy ratings, and 2 sell ratings, while the stock's average target price is currently $311.05.
• American Express recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 23.02%.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,068,236 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,830 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.15% of American Express worth $287,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Express by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Down 1.7%

AXP stock opened at $294.25 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $306.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The firm'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 Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 1.1%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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