Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Purchases Shares of 1,769 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,769 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 2.3%

AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $273.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.10. The company has a market cap of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business 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 last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research reduced their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

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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