American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 346.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 2.0% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.29% of American Express worth $600,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after buying an additional 74,977 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $264.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,561,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,840,795. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $267.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.33. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

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.