Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,484 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $274.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $265.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.71. The stock has a market cap of $193.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $143.07 and a 52-week 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 the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.