BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 58.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 110,339 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 40,499 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $25,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $266.49 on Wednesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $272.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $191.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $249.90 and a 200-day moving average of $237.85.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.78.

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.