Global Trust Asset Management LLC Has $820,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,046 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 509 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 68.6% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 2.6% during the first quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,429 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,806,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 29.6% in the first quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,402 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 1,921 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,401 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the first quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 13,643 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $294.17 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $280.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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 cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.