Abacus Planning Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 977 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in American Express by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $657,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 119.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AXP opened at $258.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.59. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $261.75.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’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 company posted $2.89 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target 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. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

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.