Paladin Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 609 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 609 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in American Express by 15.5% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $276.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.17. The company has a market capitalization of $198.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $277.11.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.42.

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.