Kessler Investment Group LLC Takes Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Kessler Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,146 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.9%

AXP stock opened at $317.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 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's 50 day moving average price is $288.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm'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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

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.

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