FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.76 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,163 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 1.4% of FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its position in American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $276.16 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $277.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.07. The stock has a market cap of $196.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. BTIG Research cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

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.