American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Benin Management CORP

Benin Management CORP trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,146 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in American Express by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $408,494,000 after acquiring an additional 224,079 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 2.1 %

AXP traded down $5.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $270.98. 1,264,603 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,921,523. The stock has a market cap of $194.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.02.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm 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 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.42.

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.