Chris Bulman Inc Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chris Bulman Inc lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 750 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Chris Bulman Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in American Express by 8.9% in the fourth 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 valued at $1,488,482,000 after purchasing an additional 408,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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 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 value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% 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 link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $299.58 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.15. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for 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 firm posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts forecast 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.