Transform Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Transform Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 946 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $10.37 on Friday, reaching $287.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,405,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,817,803. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $278.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.04. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $201.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.