Brighton Jones LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 86.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,110 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,629 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $6,095,000. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,810 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,692,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AXP traded up $3.73 on Wednesday, reaching $296.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,674,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,010,176. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $280.75 and a 200-day moving average of $288.78.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.