Insiders are generally long-term investors due to restriction in making short-term profits. In contrast, wealth management institutions always have short-term investment. Wall St. Watchdog reveals information regarding the insiders and institutions which recently increased stock shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP).

SEC data indicate that these institutions significantly increased their stock shares of American Express Company in Q3 2011:

• ARTISAN PARTNERS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 1,990,916 shares, worth $89,013,854.
• PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION OF COLORADO: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 1,444,026 shares, worth $64,562,402.
• ARONSON & JOHNSON & ORTIZ, LP: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 1,156,500 shares, worth $51,707,115.
• TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 796,800 shares, worth $35,624,928.
• RCM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC: On 06/30/2011, held 0 shares. On 09/30/2011, held 683,103 shares, worth $30,541,535.

About the company: American Express Company is a global payment and travel company. The Company’s principal products and services are charge and credit payment card products and travel-related services offered to consumers and businesses around the world.

Competitors to Watch: Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), SLM Corporation (NYSE:SLM), First Investors Financial Services Group (FIFS), and CompuCredit Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:CCRT).

(Note: Data regarding American Express Company’s stock holdings are sourced from whalewisdom.com. All data are assumed to be accurate.)

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