American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Raised by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,712 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $276.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $199.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, 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 $286.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $261.27 and a 200-day moving average of $243.78.

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 $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

American Express 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.