Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $523,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,762 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $832,000. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $7,747,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus downgraded American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AXP traded down $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $296.19. 1,842,064 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,838,141. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.90. The stock has a market cap of $207.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

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 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

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.