Lmcg Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,953 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in American Express by 969.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $112,910,000 after purchasing an additional 546,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $114,990,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.49 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $267.22. The company has a market cap of $190.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $247.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.