Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Lowers Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,942 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 2.3% of Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH's holdings in American Express were worth $7,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price objective on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,149,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,726,029. The company's 50-day moving average price is $304.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.36. The company has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.