Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,238 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $871,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.
American Express Stock Down 2.2%
AXP opened at $308.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.09.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.
American Express Announces Dividend
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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.68.
Read Our Latest Research Report on American Express
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
About American Express
(
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.
Further Reading
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