American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,719 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in American Express were worth $32,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.25.

American Express Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AXP traded up $2.75 on Friday, hitting $328.36. 1,541,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,843,582. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $295.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.84. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.