Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,447 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $27,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $225,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Baker Boyer National Bank raised its stake in American Express by 5.3% in the first quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 1,678 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised 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. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $8.99 on Friday, hitting $276.79. 7,884,358 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,930,270. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $286.36. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is 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.