Atomi Financial Group Inc. Acquires 287 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,589 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $269.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.88. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $276.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

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.