First Horizon Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,791 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Berry Wealth Group LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $296,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express by 6.4% in 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 period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,305 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $328.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The company's 50-day moving average price is $294.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.65. The company has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company 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 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued 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 1.00%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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