Mission Wealth Management LP Boosts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,176 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in American Express by 27,625.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $294.17 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $206.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $280.15 and a 200-day moving average of $288.76.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Company 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.