Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Makes New $917,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,407 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Express by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during 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 buying an additional 7,885 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 15.5% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $270.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.60. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $276.79. The company has a market cap of $192.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

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.