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Whelan Financial Increases Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

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Whelan Financial raised its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 198.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,815 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 0.3% of Whelan Financial's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Whelan Financial's holdings in American Express were worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its position in American Express by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,305 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.3%

AXP traded down $4.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $323.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 425,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,018,186. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $295.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.83. 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 stock has a market cap of $226.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's 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 owned 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on American Express

American Express Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for American Express (NYSE:AXP)

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