Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $159,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 564.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 585 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE AXP opened at $293.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $269.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52 week low of $153.50 and a 52 week high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America raised their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.