Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 246,985 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $73,303,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $294.63. 611,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,839,897. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock's fifty day moving average is $269.80 and its 200 day moving average is $288.63. The stock has a market cap of $206.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus downgraded American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

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.