American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Boosted by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in American Express by 382.6% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 333 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 7.0% during the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 92.7% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in American Express by 6.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,386 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,622,000 after buying an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 225,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $33,621,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $238.88 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $239.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.19.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.