American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in American Express by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after buying an additional 496,153 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in American Express by 8.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after buying an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in American Express by 22.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after buying an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $244.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $244.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. 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 has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America downgraded 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. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

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.