American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Northstar Advisory Group LLC

Northstar Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,805 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,527 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.5% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Northstar Advisory Group LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" 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 issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE AXP traded down $1.98 on Tuesday, hitting $299.58. 2,045,257 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,826,778. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.07.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.