Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after purchasing an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in 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 valued at $590,940,000 after buying an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $485,525,000 after buying an additional 387,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $433,709,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

American Express stock opened at $268.95 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $271.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.10 and a 200 day moving average of $236.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.78.

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.