Forsta AP Fonden Sells 18,300 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 18,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in American Express were worth $36,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in shares of American Express by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 49.0% during the 1st 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 period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $254.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $245.48 and its 200-day moving average is $234.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current 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.