American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Trimmed by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,607 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $28,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $581,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Up 2.3%

AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $273.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.10. The company has a market cap of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.