Constitution Capital LLC Acquires 915 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Constitution Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 2.0% of Constitution Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 5,860 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $40,920,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $302.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a PEG 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $273.60 and its 200 day moving average is $289.09. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current 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.