Pecaut & CO. Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pecaut & CO. lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,214 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Pecaut & CO.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,489 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,666 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC grew its position in American Express by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Bank of America downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $254.18 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $245.48 and a 200 day moving average of $234.92. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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.