Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,550 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their target price on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $302.71 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $273.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.10. 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 announced its earnings results 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current 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.