Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,439 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.9% of Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $288.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $157.00 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $270.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.49. The stock has a market cap of $203.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

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.