American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,379 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in American Express were worth $59,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $4.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $312.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,020,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,992,771. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $304.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.30. The firm has a market cap of $217.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, DZ Bank cut American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.