Somerset Trust Co Purchases New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Somerset Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 771 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.4% in the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $271.48 on Thursday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $276.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $255.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.96.

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.