Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,909 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new stake in American Express in the second quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $267.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $192.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $141.02 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business 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 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point assumed 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. 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

American Express 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.