American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Optas LLC

Optas LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $375,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in American Express by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 11,508 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,620,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 3,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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 upped their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $272.69 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.45. The company has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $286.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

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.