Blue Trust Inc. Grows Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,334 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $1,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE AXP opened at $296.54 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $282.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given 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 1.11%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

About American Express

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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