Assetmark Inc. Purchases 4,180 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,025 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,180 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $18,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased 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 in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $185,079,000 after acquiring an additional 681,304 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth approximately $114,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s 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 $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $287.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.39. American Express has a 1 year low of $152.05 and a 1 year high of $296.83.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

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.