American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,499 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second 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. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $286.73 on Monday. American Express has a 1-year low of $161.73 and a 1-year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $272.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $251.34. The firm has a market cap of $201.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently 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.