BDF Gestion Sells 1,697 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

BDF Gestion lowered its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,574 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the period. BDF Gestion’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% 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 ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $315.20.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $340.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $344.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $314.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.