Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,091 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% 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 company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $287.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.89 and a 200 day moving average of $289.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $201.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

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.