SouthState Corp Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

SouthState Corp boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,854 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in 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 period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $2.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $248.90. The company had a trading volume of 528,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,950,341. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $261.75. The firm has a market cap of $179.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $243.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.65.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Bank of America cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.