Puzo Michael J Buys 1,603 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Puzo Michael J raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 123.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,903 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Puzo Michael J’s holdings in American Express were worth $781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after acquiring an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $292.70 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $280.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.78. The stock has a market cap of $205.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.