American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 89.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 944 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 8,422 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in American Express by 8.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted 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 worth $269,547,000 after acquiring an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $276.16 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.07. The firm has a market cap of $196.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $277.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders 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 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

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.