UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,249,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in American Express in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $304.28 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $278.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $163.61 and a 1-year high of $307.82.

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 business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.