American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,376 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in 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 valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.68.

American Express Trading Down 0.7%

AXP opened at $305.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $304.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $291.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.69. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.02%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 owned by company insiders.

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.