Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 50 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,219 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in American Express were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 49.0% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,550,000 after buying an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.78.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $262.21 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $247.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.40. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $267.22. The stock has a market cap of $188.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 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.