Czech National Bank Purchases 6,255 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Czech National Bank grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,663 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,255 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in American Express were worth $35,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $4.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $297.33. 2,202,694 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,233,199. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $177.81 and a 1 year high of $307.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $277.82.

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.