Meitav Investment House Ltd. Acquires 111 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,925 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity

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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $273.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $192.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $265.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.71. American Express has a 52 week low of $143.07 and a 52 week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.