Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Sells 843 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 28.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,069 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Willner & Heller LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.1% in 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. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $268.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $248.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $236.62. The firm has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $270.10. 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 posted 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 net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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. 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 note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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 research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.78.

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.