American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,915 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 34.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 205 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 235,099 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $54,437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in American Express by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,800 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.0% during the second quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 20,243 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,687,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 173.0% in the second quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 2,641 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $250.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $180.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $261.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. BTIG Research initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.