FSA Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 243 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its holdings in American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 41.3% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after buying an additional 28,371 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $135,832,000 after buying an additional 10,364 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $304.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $165.93 and a fifty-two week high of $307.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $280.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.61. The company has a market capitalization of $214.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

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.