American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,755 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.5% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on 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 target on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $302.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $273.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.09. The stock has a market capitalization 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 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) 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 during 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 company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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.