Carnegie Investment Counsel Purchases 3,148 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in American Express by 146.6%, acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 5,295 shares valued at $1,350,000.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $4.08 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue hitting $17.86 billion, a 9.3% increase year-over-year.
• American Express announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a 1.05% yield, scheduled for payment on August 8th.

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 146.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,295 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in American Express were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $311.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.65 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.