Tobam Trims Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tobam lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 47.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 963 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 873 shares during the period. Tobam's holdings in American Express were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its stake in American Express by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,056 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of AXP stock traded down $10.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $287.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,405,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,819,585. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.94. The company has a market cap 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. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

About American Express

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.