Lbp Am Sa Acquires 56,071 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Lbp Am Sa raised its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 742.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,619 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,071 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in American Express were worth $20,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.80.

American Express Stock Down 2.9%

AXP opened at $332.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $231.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $318.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.10.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total transaction of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.