Connors Investor Services Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,447 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 24,160 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in American Express by 102.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,881,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $261.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.89. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $262.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

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.