Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,550 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.8% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $8,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $295.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,833,585. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. 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 market capitalization of $207.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.42 and a 200-day moving average of $288.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.