Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 2,819 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,816 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 2,751 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 116,850.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,017 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 7,011 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 44.2% in the first quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 22,813 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in American Express by 1.8% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 4,507 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in American Express by 5.6% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 127,475 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $34,297,000 after buying an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $295.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,696,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,833,585. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $272.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.