American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,989 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 7,054 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in American Express were worth $12,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Mirova increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirova now owns 42,900 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,732,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 156,659 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $46,495,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in American Express by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 35,345 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $10,490,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $7.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $267.44. 2,695,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,858,358. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

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.