Bellwether Advisors LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 879 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 32.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 2,608 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $14,425,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.6% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $286.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $201.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $273.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 52-week low of $161.73 and a 52-week high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.