Cadent Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cadent Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 28.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,767 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in American Express by 71.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after purchasing an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $276.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The firm has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $261.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $243.90.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express 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.