American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Position Trimmed by Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,010 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 1.2% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th 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 period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% during the 4th 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 period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in American Express by 8.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $296.54 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $281.42 and its 200-day moving average is $288.84. The stock has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share 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. 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 1.11%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.