American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,272 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,634 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $14,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in American Express by 2.8% during the first quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 2,740 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of American Express by 266.7% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,718 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 2,704 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 656 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in American Express by 2.2% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,516 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in American Express by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 16,157 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 3.5%

NYSE:AXP traded down $10.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $287.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,405,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,819,585. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $278.89 and a 200-day moving average of $288.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents 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 Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

About American Express

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.