Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $45.17 Million Stock Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,897 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 0.7% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $45,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,127,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $311.60. 2,149,317 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,726,029. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $304.67 and a 200 day moving average of $291.30. The company has a market capitalization of $216.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.