American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,869 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in American Express by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,273 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Vestor Capital LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 745 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 12,795 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $251.73 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $261.75. The firm has a market cap of $181.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.