Western Financial Corp CA Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Western Financial Corp CA grew its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,944 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.9% of Western Financial Corp CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after buying an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in American Express by 8.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in American Express by 22.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after purchasing an additional 387,166 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 14.2% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $408,494,000 after purchasing an additional 224,079 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded down $6.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $270.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,602,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,928,530. The stock has a market cap of $194.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $286.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $261.27 and a 200 day moving average of $244.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

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.