Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 156.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,957 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,287 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in American Express by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after buying an additional 919,337 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in American Express by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after buying an additional 546,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,990,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.78.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP stock opened at $268.95 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.97. The company has a market capitalization of $193.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $271.49.

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