Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases 7,874 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,499 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,874 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $28,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $5.42 on Monday, hitting $322.71. 2,160,226 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,842,269. The company has a market capitalization of $226.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 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. The business's 50 day moving average price is $295.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.83. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus downgraded American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.