American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,260 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 52,567 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after buying an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.78.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $268.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.62. The firm has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $270.10. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Company 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.