Ceera Investments LLC Has $7.28 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ceera Investments LLC cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,433 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 3.1% of Ceera Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in American Express by 11.4% during the 4th 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 period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in American Express by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after purchasing an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in American Express by 22.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $7.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $244.06. 3,652,963 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,967,115. The company has a market cap of $175.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $261.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Compass Point began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

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.