Portside Wealth Group LLC Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 205 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $287.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.32. American Express has a one year low of $152.05 and a one year high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.