Mechanics Bank Trust Department Trims Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Mechanics Bank Trust Department has reduced its stake in American Express Company by 39.5%, owning 1,394 shares worth $445,000 after selling 912 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• In the first quarter, several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their holdings, indicating a mixed investment sentiment among institutional investors.
• American Express reported a 9.3% year-over-year increase in revenue for Q2, with an EPS of $4.08, surpassing estimates by $0.22.

Mechanics Bank Trust Department trimmed its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,394 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 912 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in American Express were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 buying an additional 605,900 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 78,538 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 25.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $341.73 on Tuesday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $345.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market cap of $237.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $315.10 and its 200 day moving average is $294.01.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.20.

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.

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