Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Has $3.40 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,630 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 69,073 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $20,500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider 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.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $328.36. 1,541,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,843,582. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $294.35 and its 200 day moving average is $289.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $230.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 1.00%. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

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.