Avitas Wealth Management LLC Purchases 394 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,076 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 1.1% of Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in American Express by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $590,940,000 after buying an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in American Express by 22.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after acquiring an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter valued at $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $408,494,000 after purchasing an additional 224,079 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $270.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $190.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.51. American Express has a 1-year low of $141.73 and a 1-year high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.