American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Buckley Wealth Management LLC

Buckley Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,097 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Express Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $8.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $276.79. The stock had a trading volume of 7,884,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,930,270. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $261.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.90. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $286.36. The company has a market capitalization of $199.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. 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 1.01%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $242.33.

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.