American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,164 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 567 shares during the period. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,287 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 73,343 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC increased its position in American Express by 525.4% during the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 43,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,136,000 after purchasing an additional 36,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $501,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.83.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $273.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $276.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

About American Express

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.