Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,395 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Bank of America boosted their target price on American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.71. 2,149,718 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,002,593. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $256.24. The stock has a market cap of $181.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.19 and its 200-day moving average is $229.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express 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.