American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,197 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,538 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.1% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $27,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its position in American Express by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 69,073 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $20,500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in American Express by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.25.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $328.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,541,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,008. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.