American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Position Decreased by M. Kulyk & Associates LLC

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,269 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,196 shares during the period. American Express makes up 2.4% of M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $10,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in American Express by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

American Express Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $4.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $312.40. 1,036,364 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,992,771. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $304.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $291.30. The company has a market capitalization of $217.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express 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.