Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $196.58 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 848,960 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,929 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.12% of American Express worth $196,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC grew its position in American Express by 4.1% during 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. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 18.9% during the 2nd 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 raised its position in American Express by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.43.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $268.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $193.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $272.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.