Baldwin Investment Management LLC Buys 100 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,210 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $305.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.77 and a 200 day moving average of $254.26. American Express has a 52 week low of $163.32 and a 52 week high of $306.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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 firm 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 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.