Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 15,029 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312,804 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,029 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $84,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after buying an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.5% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $276.79 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.90. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $242.33.

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.