Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in American Express by 2.3%, bringing its total holdings to over 3.1 million shares valued at approximately $839 million.
• American Express reported quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $17.86 billion—a 9.3% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of 1.1%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,121,172 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,057 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.45% of American Express worth $839,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.9370 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $306.1130. The company had a trading volume of 2,213,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,467. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $213.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.90. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

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.