American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,167,576 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 83,780 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.16% of American Express worth $270,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 102.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,550,000 after acquiring an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $254.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $245.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.92. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $261.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Bank of America lowered 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently 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.