AdvisorShares Investments LLC Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,973 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 597 shares during the quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC raised 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 valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 18.9% in the second 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. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. upped their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective 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 stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Up 3.6 %

AXP stock opened at $254.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $245.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.92. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $261.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.