Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 194,000 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 554.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $62,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of American Express by 1,176.0% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 56,476 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after acquiring an additional 52,050 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 8,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 78.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,522 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,990,000 after acquiring an additional 17,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

AXP opened at $305.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $163.32 and a fifty-two week high of $306.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $277.77 and its 200 day moving average is $254.26. The stock has a market cap of $215.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.