American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Boosted by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,579 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,935,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $7.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $244.06. 3,652,963 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,967,115. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $261.75. The stock has a market cap of $175.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, 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 current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $244.57 and its 200-day moving average is $234.00.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.