American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 100,627 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,560 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $27,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $375,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 20.3% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,640 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,151 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,192 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in American Express by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 300,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $68,379,000 after purchasing an additional 25,051 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.78 on Friday, hitting $287.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,814,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,479. American Express has a 52 week low of $152.05 and a 52 week high of $296.83. 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 company has a market cap of $202.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.32.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.