Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $29.29 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 107,992 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 1.1% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $29,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased 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 worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 33.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 54,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,368,000 after buying an additional 13,520 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $286.87 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a twelve month low of $157.97 and a twelve month high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Company Profile

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.