PFG Investments LLC Purchases 4,315 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 237.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,129 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CIC Wealth LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.74. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.

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