American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 80.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,313 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 5,321 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.8% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 6.3% in the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in American Express by 2,196.4% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.78.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $271.06 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $272.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $251.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.