Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 900 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 0.7% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $341,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 52,567 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $9,848,000 after buying an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $268.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $193.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $270.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $248.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.78.

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.