American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,892 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 20,407 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in American Express were worth $64,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $264.79. 1,939,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,848,440. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, 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. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 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. 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 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 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.