American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Bensler LLC

Bensler LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,694 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $8,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.6% during the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 8,015 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 82,783 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $22,273,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Sky Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the first quarter. Sky Investment Group LLC now owns 48,702 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $13,103,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 18.0% in the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,526 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Monday, March 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $10.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $287.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,405,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,817,795. The stock has a market cap of $201.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.17. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.