Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 590 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,396 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 590 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC lifted its position in American Express by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $259.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $261.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.33 and a 200-day moving average of $235.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered 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, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

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.