Chatham Capital Group Inc. Acquires 830 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,697 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.2% of Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 4th 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 worth $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AXP opened at $296.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $207.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 firm 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.