Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 293.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,428 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,432 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in American Express were worth $8,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Old Port Advisors acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,395 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of American Express by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 71,181 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $17,792,000 after acquiring an additional 9,483 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,900 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AXP traded up $1.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $302.25. The stock had a trading volume of 867,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,852,755. 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 50 day simple moving average of $285.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $175.60 and a 1-year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.45.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company's stock, 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 through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.