Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,408,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 9.6% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in American Express by 63.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,893 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,025,000 after buying an additional 3,443 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC grew its stake in American Express by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 3,552 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in American Express by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,687 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in American Express by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,857 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.68 on Monday. American Express has a 1-year low of $165.93 and a 1-year high of $307.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $280.04 and a 200 day moving average of $255.61. The company has a market capitalization of $214.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.