American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Sargent Investment Group LLC

Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,367,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 5.1% in the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 8,997 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in American Express by 49.0% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,550,000 after purchasing an additional 91,760 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Express by 22.1% during the first quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 9,455 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $289.57. 369,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,896,478. American Express has a 52-week low of $157.00 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $203.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $270.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.49.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.