Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 115,293 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,168,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter valued at approximately $730,000. Centennial Bank AR grew its position in American Express by 2.1% in the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 2,931 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $134,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $760,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in American Express by 2.2% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 848,960 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $196,577,000 after acquiring an additional 17,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

American Express stock opened at $268.53 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $272.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $193.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.43.

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.