FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Purchases 72 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,406 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.8% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,751 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,272,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 15,010 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $2,939,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in American Express by 330.7% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,522 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $276.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.95. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $277.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average 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.