American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 446,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in American Express were worth $103,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in shares of American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 662,382 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in American Express by 969.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after buying an additional 546,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $114,990,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.78.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $271.03 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $272.68. The company has a market capitalization of $194.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.61. 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 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 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.