Jacobs & Co. CA Has $9.56 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jacobs & Co. CA reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,514 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.2%

AXP opened at $293.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, 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 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.