Moran Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,854 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $6,469,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.5% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% in the third quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $5.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $293.27. 1,540,710 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,897,043. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $275.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.64. American Express has a one year low of $162.85 and a one year high of $296.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.09.

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.