Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 4,244 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,545 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 4,244 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.8%

American Express stock traded down $2.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $296.74. The stock had a trading volume of 487,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,813,037. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $276.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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 Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% 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

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.