Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $12.95 Million Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in American Express by 13.4% in the first quarter, now owning 48,141 shares worth approximately $12.95 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in American Express, including DZ BANK AG and GAMMA Investing LLC, highlighting growing interest among hedge funds.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $17.86 billion, reflecting a 9.3% year-over-year increase.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,141 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,440 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $12,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in American Express by 463.3% in 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value 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 represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $308.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $304.67 and a 200-day moving average of $291.30. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The company has a market cap of $214.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

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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