American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,633 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,227 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in American Express were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents 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 owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 3.5%

AXP traded down $10.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $287.62. 3,405,421 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,817,795. The firm has a market cap of $201.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. 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 has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $277.76 and a 200 day moving average of $289.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict 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.