Thrive Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Thrive Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,002 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company 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 stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

American Express stock opened at $296.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.90. 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 company 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 fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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.