BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 12,853 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,905 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,853 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $32,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value 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 approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AXP traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $285.32. 1,724,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,849,593. The company has a market cap of $199.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.64. 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 results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

American Express 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.