Centennial Bank AR Purchases 61 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Centennial Bank AR increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,931 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR’s holdings in American Express were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.43.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $268.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $193.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.55. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $272.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 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.