1ST Source Bank Sells 558 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

1ST Source Bank lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,354 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the period. American Express comprises 0.5% of 1ST Source Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.7 %

AXP stock opened at $266.04 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $301.59 and a 200 day moving average of $288.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.