American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Verus Capital Partners LLC

Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,803 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $258.65. 3,442,100 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,963,972. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $242.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.90. 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 has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express 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.