Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Sells 3,329 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,072 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,329 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 7.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of American Express by 6.5% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.3% during the first quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its stake in American Express by 206.7% in the first quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 5,520 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 95.8% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $180.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $146.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Redburn Partners downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 25th. 3M restated a “reiterates” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised American Express from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $197.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.06.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.17. 1,496,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,178,598. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.63. American Express has a 52-week low of $130.65 and a 52-week high of $182.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The payment services company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $15.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.41 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 29.26% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services. Its products and services include payment and financing products; network services; accounts payable expense management products and services; and travel and lifestyle services.