Silver Lake Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,507 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.71. 2,133,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,002,593. The company has a market cap of $181.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $237.19 and its 200 day moving average is $229.35. 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 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $256.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.