American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Banyan Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,796 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 11,754 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 5.0% of Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $909,575,000 after buying an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 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 valued at $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $433,709,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $268.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $248.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.62. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $270.10.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Compass Point began coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.