3,402 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by OmniStar Financial Group Inc.

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,402 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $10.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $275.56. The company had a trading volume of 4,027,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,836. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $286.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $242.33.

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.