Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Has $13.16 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,536 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.5% of Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $274.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $265.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a 52-week low of $143.07 and a 52-week high of $286.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

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 shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

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.