Waldron Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 102.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AXP stock traded up $1.50 on Tuesday, hitting $272.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,696,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,929,957. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $261.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend 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%.

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.