American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,243 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Claro Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 997 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,415,000. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 8.8% during the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $3.69 on Wednesday, hitting $274.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 725,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,913,938. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $264.58 and a 200-day moving average of $246.51. The company has a market capitalization of $193.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $143.07 and a 12-month high of $286.36. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Bank of America lifted 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, September 17th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.