Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 41.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,272 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $1,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in American Express by 8.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AXP
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
American Express Stock Down 1.7%
Shares of AXP opened at $294.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.17 and a 200-day moving average of $291.35.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
American Express Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.02%.
American Express Profile
(
Free Report)
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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