FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 232 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,163 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 1.4% of FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% during 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. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.96.

American Express Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $276.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.07. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $277.11. 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 $196.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.90%.

American Express Company 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.