Courier Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Courier Capital LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 86.4% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,793 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 5,928 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 46.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 496 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 109.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.58.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $272.05. The stock had a trading volume of 810,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,001. American Express has a 52 week low of $141.02 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.