American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Position Raised by Legacy Financial Strategies LLC

Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $8.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $276.79. 7,884,358 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,930,270. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $242.33.

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.