American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,019 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $341,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of American Express by 107.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 41,439 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,763,000 after buying an additional 21,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,747,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $259.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $261.75. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $246.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Bank of America downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.