Howe & Rusling Inc. Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 39,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,992,000 after acquiring an additional 8,204 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,978,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 95.6% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envoi LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth $307,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.09.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $287.65 on Thursday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $161.73 and a fifty-two week high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.