Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Has $14.42 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 18.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,277 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 9,769 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased 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 valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America downgraded 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Three 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 a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $244.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $244.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.15. 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 announced its 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

About American Express

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.