Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group Invests $2.63 Million in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased 8,244 shares of American Express Company, valued at approximately $2,630,000, in the 2nd quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 84.33% of American Express's stock, indicating significant institutional interest.
• American Express reported a quarterly EPS of $4.08, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.86, and showed a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,244 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,630,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $9,919,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $3.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $344.53. 961,259 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,900,084. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $349.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $315.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share 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.