Optima Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Optima Capital LLC lowered its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 20.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,515 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Optima Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $341.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $345.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $315.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.01.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.