Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,864 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.96.

American Express Trading Up 2.1 %

AXP opened at $276.16 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $256.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $277.11.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.90%.

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.