Raymond James & Associates Buys 5,780 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 653,725 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.09% of American Express worth $148,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in American Express by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.9% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $533,018,000 after purchasing an additional 67,575 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $209.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $3.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $238.92. 3,691,367 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,201,667. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $171.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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