Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stiles Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $219,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,007,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bensler LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 5.2% in the third quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 29,575 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 21.7% during the third quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $349,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express 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 owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $287.33. The stock had a trading volume of 251,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,230. The business’s 50 day moving average is $267.52 and its 200-day moving average is $248.67. American Express has a 52 week low of $152.05 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. The company has a market cap of $202.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21.

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 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 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.