Lazari Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,578 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

AXP stock opened at $272.31 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $262.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.73. The stock has a market cap of $195.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $286.36.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

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.