Focused Investors LLC Has $117.47 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Focused Investors LLC reduced its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,600 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 10,400 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 3.8% of Focused Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $117,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $985,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.4%

AXP stock traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $316.26. 3,218,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,846,992. The firm's 50-day moving average is $303.71 and its 200-day moving average is $291.05. The company has a market cap of $221.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. On average, equities 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 paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.68.

American Express Company 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.