APG Asset Management N.V. Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

APG Asset Management N.V. trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 128,688 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 44,911 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in American Express were worth $27,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $341,000. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1,052.2% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.78.

American Express Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $271.03 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $272.68. The firm has a market cap of $194.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $251.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.61.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given 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 presently 23.06%.

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.