Rheos Capital Works Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 68.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,700 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 78,500 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $9,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,015,269 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Monday. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $273.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

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. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share 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.

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