Sierra Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 1,960 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sierra Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,960 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.5 %

American Express stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $271.96. 1,102,791 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,927,047. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $286.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.38.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 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 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.58.

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.