797 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by King Wealth Management Group

King Wealth Management Group bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 797 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $288.30 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $157.00 and a 1 year high of $296.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $270.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.49. The company has a market capitalization of $203.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.