3,075 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Acquired by Curat Global LLC

Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,075 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $827,000. American Express makes up 1.0% of Curat Global LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in American Express by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 30,438 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $9,034,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Express by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 88,765 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $26,589,000 after purchasing an additional 9,268 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,466 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $6.75 on Friday, hitting $302.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,098,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,785. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.96 and a 200-day moving average of $288.97.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.