Gradient Investments LLC Sells 3,363 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,819 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,363 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Parisi Gray Wealth Management lifted its position in American Express by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 6,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIC Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,149,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,002,593. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.35. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $256.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 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 analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.