870 Shares in American Express Company $AXP Acquired by Palacios Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Palacios Wealth Management LLC invested approximately $278,000 in American Express Company by acquiring 870 shares during the second quarter.
• Insider transactions included significant sales, with Anna Marrs selling 5,500 shares for over $1.7 million and Glenda G. Mcneal offloading 50,000 shares for $15.5 million.
• Despite recent insider selling, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for American Express, with an average target price of $315.20.

Palacios Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 870 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 61,731 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,500 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $340.41. The stock had a trading volume of 8,629,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,350. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $314.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.53. The company has a market capitalization of $236.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $344.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.