Eagle Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.76 Million Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Eagle Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,552 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,763,000. American Express makes up about 0.0% of Eagle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AXP opened at $299.58 on Wednesday. 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 $275.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.15. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its 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 analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.