Milestone Asset Management LLC Has $4.26 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Milestone Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,826 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,816 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 0.9% of Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.5%

AXP stock opened at $294.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.73. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.