Physicians Financial Services Inc. Has $629,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,320 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Stiles Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $219,000. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in American Express by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bensler LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 29,575 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $287.33. The company had a trading volume of 251,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,230. American Express has a 12 month low of $152.05 and a 12 month high of $296.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $267.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.67. The firm has a market cap of $202.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.