KBC Group NV Has $134.59 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

KBC Group NV reduced its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 500,231 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 130,122 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.07% of American Express worth $134,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,749,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $317.48 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $288.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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