New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $8.14 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in American Express by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after buying an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 969.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after purchasing an additional 546,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.55. 3,901,233 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,091. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $166.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.11.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

About American Express

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.