Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 1,292 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,152 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in American Express were worth $49,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale 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 the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents 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.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $10.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $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 stock's 50-day moving average is $278.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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. 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 has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of 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. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.