Kowal Investment Group LLC Buys 227 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,644 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express during the first quarter valued at $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in American Express by 924.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in American Express by 71.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $281.67 on Thursday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $281.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $226.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

American Express 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.