Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Acquires Shares of 2,780 American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. has acquired a new position in American Express Company, purchasing 2,780 shares valued at approximately $887,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• American Express reported strong quarterly earnings, achieving $4.08 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.86, with a revenue of $17.86 billion.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of sentiment towards American Express, with eight analysts giving it a "Buy" rating, while a consensus rating stands at "Hold" with an average target price of $315.20.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,780 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $887,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balefire LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in American Express by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,585 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 13,514 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,311,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in American Express by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 8,928 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $5.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $341.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,200,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,278,247. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $342.47. The stock has a market cap of $237.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. This trade represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.20.

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.