Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Buys 45 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,870 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 119.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 102.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in American Express by 2,196.4% in the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in American Express by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 35,763 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $271.48 on Thursday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $276.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.40. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21.

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, 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price 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. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.