Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 36,497 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2,693.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,852 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $7,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,028,913,000 after acquiring an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,847,452,000 after acquiring an additional 35,760 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,037,387,000 after acquiring an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $857,293,000 after acquiring an additional 405,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $13.55 on Friday, reaching $231.05. The company had a trading volume of 7,572,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,134,884. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $219.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.