Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. Sells 175 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,709 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 0.9% of Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $7,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 50,009 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $14,842,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express 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 lowered their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $287.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $278.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.83. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express 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.