Ellis Investment Partners LLC Has $486,000 Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,099 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 873 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in American Express by 1.0% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $7.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $244.06. 3,652,963 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,967,115. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $244.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $261.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

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.