American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Lifted by KPP Advisory Services LLC

KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,026 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in American Express by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock 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 research report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was 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.

American Express Stock Up 1.0%

American Express stock opened at $311.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.94.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.