American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,139 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 2.6% of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $287.62 on Monday. The firm 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $278.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.83. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Research 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.