Kowal Investment Group LLC Has $328,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,417 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in 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 valued at $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in American Express by 11.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in American Express by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $268.99 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $271.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $249.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.11. The firm has a market cap of $193.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.78.

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.