BLB&B Advisors LLC Purchases 2,474 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.58.

American Express Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $195.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $262.61 and its 200 day moving average is $244.73. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.