American Express Company $AXP Shares Bought by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,334,299,000 after buying an additional 605,900 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in American Express by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,849,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168,445 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,370,489,000 after purchasing an additional 78,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,278,711,000 after purchasing an additional 965,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.0%

AXP opened at $328.76 on Thursday. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $349.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $319.19 and its 200-day moving average is $297.32. The company has a market capitalization of $228.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company 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.