Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,963 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 924.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after buying an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after buying an additional 681,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $269,547,000 after acquiring an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $269.09. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $307.82. The firm has a market cap of $207.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.