Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Purchases 2,715 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,678 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,715 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chapman Investment Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.1% in the third quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC now owns 21,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,799,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 9,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Nadler Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,177 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,829 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.0 %

AXP opened at $272.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $286.36. The company has a market cap of $192.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express 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.