American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Lessened by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,552 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in American Express by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 50,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $14,842,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $301.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $274.12 and a 200-day moving average of $289.07. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.