American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Rehmann Capital Advisory Group

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,445 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group's holdings in American Express were worth $3,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in American Express by 2.4% in the fourth 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 period. Arista Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $301.42.

American Express Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE AXP traded up $6.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $323.90. 991,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,837,084. The business's 50 day moving average is $298.81 and its 200-day moving average is $290.38. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents 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.

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.