Mainstream Capital Management LLC Makes New $349,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,286 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $177,097,000 after acquiring an additional 28,371 shares in the last quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,179 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 41,332 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $815,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 2.8 %

AXP stock opened at $286.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.67. The company has a market cap of $202.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. 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 has a 12 month low of $152.05 and a 12 month high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly 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 $3.27 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 net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.