Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

by · The Markets Daily

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,627 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after purchasing an additional 195,876 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,129,175 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $485,525,000 after purchasing an additional 387,166 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in American Express by 14.2% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,798,742 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $408,494,000 after purchasing an additional 224,079 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Compass Point began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

Get Our Latest Analysis on AXP

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

AXP stock opened at $269.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. 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 one year low of $141.02 and a one year high of $286.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $263.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last issued its 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

About American Express

(Free Report)

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.

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