Argent Trust Co Has $12.02 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,895 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in American Express by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 138,359 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $32,037,000 after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the period. Lumbard & Kellner LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in American Express by 97.9% during the second quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 24,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,763,000 after buying an additional 12,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 57.1% in the second quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 66,447 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,386,000 after buying an additional 24,160 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.78.

American Express Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $265.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $267.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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.