Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $52.29 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 192,814 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,570 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $52,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

AXP traded up $3.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $274.12. The stock had a trading volume of 725,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,913,938. American Express has a one year low of $143.07 and a one year high of $286.36. The company has a market capitalization of $193.10 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $264.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.51.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 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 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company 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 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

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.