Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Purchases 2,259 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 2,259 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 0.9% of Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings in American Express were worth $45,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,025,632,000 after acquiring an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in American Express by 8.9% in 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 valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Bank of America raised 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. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $297.40.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $325.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,040,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,839,008. The stock has a market cap of $228.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $291.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.