Mutual Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,409 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,843,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,334,299,000 after acquiring an additional 605,900 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,025,562 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,849,777,000 after acquiring an additional 2,168,445 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $1,454,667,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,093,807 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,370,489,000 after acquiring an additional 78,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,752,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,278,711,000 after acquiring an additional 965,221 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 2.1%

AXP stock opened at $323.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $225.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $324.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.