PFG Investments LLC Acquires 749 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Express by 16.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $298.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $209.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.25. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $283.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.68.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.