American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,872 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $19,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.96.

American Express Stock Up 2.1 %

AXP stock opened at $276.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G 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 $277.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.07.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

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.