D Orazio & Associates Inc. Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,035 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in American Express by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $289.16. The company had a trading volume of 563,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,900,898. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $270.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $156.03 and a 1-year high of $296.83.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend 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%.

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.