Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 67,042 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 126.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,999 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,042 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $32,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 26.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 39,494 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,992,000 after buying an additional 8,204 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,863 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $4,978,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 95.6% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envoi LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth about $307,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $287.65 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $274.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.35. American Express has a one year low of $161.73 and a one year high of $296.83. 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 firm has a market cap of $202.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21.

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. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut American Express from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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