Arvest Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,555 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in American Express by 27.0% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 11,998 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $255,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $228,000. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $1,763,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 2.2%

AXP stock traded up $6.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $294.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,306,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,817,538. 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 has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $280.15 and a 200 day moving average of $288.76. The company has a market cap of $206.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm'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 owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

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.