Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $398,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 768,301 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 worth $1,923,399,000 after acquiring an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at about $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of American Express by 71.9% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AXP opened at $271.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.19. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $276.79. The company has a market capitalization of $195.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.96.

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.