American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Cut by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 679,170 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 20,421 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.10% of American Express worth $182,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:AXP traded down $5.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $319.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,090,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,618. The company has a market capitalization of $223.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $300.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

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.