Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $35.12 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,331 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,928 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in American Express were worth $35,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $7.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $277.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,650,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,626,372. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $195.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $297.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is 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.