Reliant Investment Management LLC Sells 158 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Reliant Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,649 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 3.3% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth about $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in American Express by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $269.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $193.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $276.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.88. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

About American Express

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.