Clarius Group LLC Boosts Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Clarius Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 60.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,101 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $7,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 50,009 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $14,842,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 1.3%

American Express stock traded up $3.73 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $296.54. 3,690,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,824,396. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $281.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.84. The company has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was 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.

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.