Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,308 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,312 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.4% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $28,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after buying an additional 408,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Trading Up 2.3%

American Express stock traded up $6.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $302.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,098,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,302. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $272.96 and a 200-day moving average of $288.97. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $212.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

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.