Capital Advantage Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Capital Advantage Inc. has reduced its stock holdings in American Express by 32.5%, resulting in ownership of 2,000 shares valued at approximately $638,000.
• Other institutional investors including Vanguard Group, Wellington Management, and Goldman Sachs increased their stakes in American Express, indicating a strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have varied ratings on American Express, with upgrades and downgrades leading to a current average target price of $315.20 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Capital Advantage Inc. trimmed its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Capital Advantage Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.20.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AXP opened at $340.41 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $344.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $236.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $314.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Company 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.

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