Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Reduces Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 470,566 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 50,450 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.07% of American Express worth $126,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in American Express by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,359 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc raised its position in American Express by 1.3% in 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. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $311.75. 3,254,420 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,827,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The stock's 50 day moving average is $286.36 and its 200 day moving average is $288.84. The company has a market cap of $218.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.