TKG Advisors LLC Increases Stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

TKG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,683 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 2.6% of TKG Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. TKG Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm'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 value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $328.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,843,582. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.07. The firm has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $293.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.48. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.25.

American Express 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.