Calamos Advisors LLC Raises Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Calamos Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 202,571 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $54,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $328.36 on Friday. 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 P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $294.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.65.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business'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 owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

American Express 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.

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