Swiss National Bank Has $463.37 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,708,579 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.24% of American Express worth $463,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its stake in American Express by 10.5% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 422 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $286.87. 2,614,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,934,763. American Express has a 1-year low of $157.97 and a 1-year high of $296.83. The firm has a market cap of $202.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $272.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.