Vista Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vista Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 39.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,015 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 15,524 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in American Express by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,592 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.17 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.76. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.