Vest Financial LLC Has $38.43 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 28.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,842 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,266 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $38,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $6.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $302.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,098,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,785. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.97.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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 report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.