Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $286.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $262.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.58.

American Express 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.