Greenleaf Trust Purchases 81 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,436 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in American Express by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after purchasing an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in American Express by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after purchasing an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in American Express by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $408,494,000 after purchasing an additional 224,079 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

American Express stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $270.85. 119,811 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,920,634. The firm has a market cap of $194.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $262.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 52-week low of $141.02 and a 52-week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.58.

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.