American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 36.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in American Express were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 4.1% during the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the second quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 6,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $8.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $244.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,148,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,974,364. The company has a market capitalization of $175.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.38 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.42. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $256.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share 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.