Physicians Financial Services Inc. Acquires 50 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,320 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 26,783.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,467,210,000 after buying an additional 906,353 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in American Express by 924.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $197,149,000 after acquiring an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $185,079,000 after acquiring an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth about $114,990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

American Express Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $287.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 251,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,230. The company has a market capitalization of $202.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52 week low of $152.05 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’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 value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express 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 transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.