Essex Savings Bank Boosts Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,900 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $183,037,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.20.

American Express Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $340.41 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $344.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $314.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.34. The company has a market cap of $236.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Express Company 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.