Tredje AP fonden Lowers Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tredje AP fonden cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,406 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in American Express by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $433,709,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.78.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $268.95 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $271.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.97. The stock has a market cap of $193.46 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share 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.