American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 969 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 27,625.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in American Express by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.8%

AXP opened at $319.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $223.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $329.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $300.79 and a 200-day moving average of $290.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.74.

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.