Borer Denton & Associates Inc. Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,787 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Borer Denton & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $301.30 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $276.08 and a 200-day moving average of $253.23. The company has a market cap of $212.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1 year low of $163.32 and a 1 year high of $301.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results 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. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This 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 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.