765 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Acquired by Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC

Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 765 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 4.1% in the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 18.9% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the second quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.43.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $8.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $275.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,240,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,927,488. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $276.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.