QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 53.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 115,762 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,195 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Trading Down 0.3 %

American Express stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Monday, reaching $271.85. 131,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,902,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $266.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.66. The company has a market capitalization of $191.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $151.51 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

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.