Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of American Express worth $183,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position 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 raised its holdings in American Express by 8.9% during 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 buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.
American Express Price Performance
AXP stock opened at $328.36 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $294.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.65. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Dividend Announcement
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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.25.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AXP
About American Express
(
Free Report)
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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