Praxis Investment Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,494 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,210 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 27,625.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Argus downgraded American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $298.50 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $283.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.77. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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