Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 804 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 804 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,320 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $570,000. Stiles Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $288.54. 373,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,910,792. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $267.52 and its 200-day moving average is $248.67. The firm has a market cap of $203.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a twelve month low of $152.05 and a twelve month high of $296.83.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.