United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $1.19 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,378 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $270.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 has a twelve month low of $143.07 and a twelve month high of $286.36.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.