Avanza Fonder AB Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,055 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 33.0% during the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 16,837 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,530,000 after buying an additional 4,173 shares during the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 71.0% during the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,039 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $301.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.07. The company has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

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.