Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Purchases 3,663 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Express Company by 56.1% during the second quarter, owning 10,189 shares valued at approximately $3.25 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and Pinnacle Financial Partners, have recently adjusted their positions in American Express, collectively holding 84.33% of the stock.
• American Express recently reported a strong quarter, with $4.08 earnings per share and $17.86 billion in revenue, both outperforming analysts' estimates.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 56.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,189 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $3,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $12,334,299,000 after purchasing an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

AXP traded up $2.48 during trading on Monday, reaching $343.60. 1,236,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,898,986. The stock has a market cap of $239.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $345.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $314.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

American Express Company 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.