Ibex Wealth Advisors Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,837 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,173 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $4,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 71.0% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 24.1% during the first quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,039 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,545 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,582,000 after acquiring an additional 4,244 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $301.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $274.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.07. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G 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.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.