Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 16,507 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 50.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,119 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 16,507 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in American Express were worth $4,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 90.2% in the first quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 21.3% in the first quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,345 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 53,766 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $14,466,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 4.6% in the first quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 4,863 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was 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.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $298.50 on Friday. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $283.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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