American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 0.7% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.78.

American Express Stock Up 2.5 %

AXP stock opened at $268.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $270.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $248.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About American Express

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.