BLB&B Advisors LLC Has $3.77 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.73. The stock has a market cap of $195.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $286.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

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.