Swedbank AB Purchases 5,827 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 408,679 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,827 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in American Express were worth $110,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its position in American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in American Express by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $277.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $281.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.87. The stock has a market cap of $199.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express Profile

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.