Aureus Asset Management LLC Has $38 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aureus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,099 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 23,731 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.5% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $37,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 41.3% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after buying an additional 28,371 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $135,832,000 after buying an additional 10,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $304.68 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $280.04 and a 200-day moving average of $255.61. The company has a market capitalization of $214.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $165.93 and a 52-week high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.