DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,852 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,494 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $17,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $2.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $328.36. 1,541,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,843,582. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $294.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. 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.