WP Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

WP Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,728 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 1.3% of WP Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC increased its position in American Express by 4.1% during the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 18.9% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report 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 given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.65. The stock had a trading volume of 3,442,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,963,967. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.42 and a 200-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 released its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for 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%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Company 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.