Rheos Capital Works Inc. Acquires 16,000 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 98,700 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 1.4% of Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $281.67 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $259.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.14. 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 has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $281.87. The firm has a market cap of $202.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.