Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI Lowers Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI lowered its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,099 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,266 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 1.2% of Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI's holdings in American Express were worth $6,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% in 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley raised 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 note on Thursday. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $301.42.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $8.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $325.52. 2,844,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,846,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $299.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.57. 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 $228.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

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.