American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Reduced by Balentine LLC

Balentine LLC decreased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,138 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,769 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

American Express stock opened at $250.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $261.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.57. The company has a market capitalization of $180.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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.