Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 42.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,603 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in American Express were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $34,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued 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 a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of AXP opened at $287.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.04. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $201.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal 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.