Calton & Associates Inc. Takes $519,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,912 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $244.58.

American Express Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.10. 128,765 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,922,272. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.38. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.