Narwhal Capital Management Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Narwhal Capital Management cut its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,963 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 1.2% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.58.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $195.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

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.