Perennial Advisors LLC Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Perennial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,508 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,434 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 2.6% of Perennial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Perennial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $13,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 valued at $581,914,000 after buying an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in American Express by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 346.2% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $301.61. 2,097,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,830,330. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $273.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.07. The company has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut 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 report on Monday, March 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. 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 transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. 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.