Czech National Bank Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,475 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $34,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 27,625.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $297.76. 669,332 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,049,368. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.90. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.27. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

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.