Eagle Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Eagle Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,552 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,763,000. American Express makes up about 0.0% of Eagle Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

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

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AXP traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $297.90. 1,603,921 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,816,224. The company has a market cap of $208.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $277.76 and its 200-day moving average is $289.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm'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 value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.