Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 55,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 21.7% during the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 13,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $525,000. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 441.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,550,000 after acquiring an additional 4,660 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,537,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in American Express by 221.0% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 246,477 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $66,845,000 after acquiring an additional 169,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $271.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $263.16 and its 200 day moving average is $244.92. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $141.02 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. 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 objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.