Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised 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.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $290.03. The stock had a trading volume of 52,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,895,354. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $271.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.75. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.65 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.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.