Patten Group Inc. Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Patten Group Inc. reduced its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,416 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 724 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 54,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,272,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 11,667 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in American Express by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,182 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $3.02 on Monday, reaching $254.32. The stock had a trading volume of 726,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,962,206. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $256.24. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $239.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.30. The company has a market cap of $182.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share 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.