Meitav Investment House Ltd. Has $9.62 Million Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 30.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 7,054 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth 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. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. This represents a 65.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.90.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $331.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $320.43 and its 200-day moving average is $299.06. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $349.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $230.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.