8,182 Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Bought by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,182 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,185,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.3% during 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 position in American Express by 16.3% during 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 American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in American Express by 8.9% during 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 position in American Express by 463.3% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $6.97 on Friday, hitting $308.38. 5,515,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,018,385. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $303.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.05. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.68.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business'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 value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.