Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. Purchases 14,439 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 32.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,009 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 14,439 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.2% of Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $15,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% 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.

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE AXP traded down $1.34 on Friday, hitting $294.04. 5,251,732 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,856,123. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $270.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.