Accent Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Accent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 247.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,694 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 6,194 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 1.4% of Accent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Accent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in American Express by 415.0% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 15,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,488,000 after buying an additional 12,343 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 823.5% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 628 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter worth $459,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $286.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 52-week low of $157.97 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.20.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % 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 insiders.

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.