Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Purchases 91 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $481,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after purchasing an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $114,990,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $1.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $290.03. The company had a trading volume of 52,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,895,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $271.46 and its 200 day moving average is $250.75. American Express has a twelve month low of $157.97 and a twelve month high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.