Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,801 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in American Express by 4.2% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,887 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in American Express by 68.2% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 66,040 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $15,037,000 after purchasing an additional 26,783 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,571 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,272 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased 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. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, 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 value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $287.60 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $152.05 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The firm has a market cap of $202.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.