American Express Company $AXP Stake Boosted by OFI Invest Asset Management

OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 298.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 176,248 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 132,009 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $56,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 81,777 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $26,087,000 after purchasing an additional 11,629 shares in the last quarter. Summa Corp. purchased a new position in American Express during the second quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,039 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares in the company, valued at $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $316.27 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $349.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.