CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. Sells 96 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 953 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 2.3%

AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Monday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $273.60 and its 200 day moving average is $289.07. The stock has a market cap of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.