Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 674,469 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 6,966 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of American Express worth $181,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Express by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in American Express by 1.4% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in American Express by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in American Express by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $5.95 on Thursday, hitting $323.30. 757,264 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,394. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.38. The stock has a market cap of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $301.37.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, 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 link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.