Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,112 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 1.3% of Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its holdings in American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Founders Capital Management purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $291.63 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $205.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $268.64 and a 200 day moving average of $249.46. American Express has a 52 week low of $153.50 and a 52 week high of $296.83. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Express 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 transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.