American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 285 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,272,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,958 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $357,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Bank of America downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE AXP opened at $258.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $242.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.75. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $261.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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.