CX Institutional Acquires 3,072 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CX Institutional lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,379 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional's holdings in American Express were worth $10,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in American Express by 27,625.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,846 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $581,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,045 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $886,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

American Express stock traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $297.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,603,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,224. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $277.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.17. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, 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 quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

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.