American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Position Boosted by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,638 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,413 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 2.6% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $34,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 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 directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $325.83. 3,040,132 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,842,878. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $291.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.23. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.58.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.25.

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.