Sharkey Howes & Javer Invests $634,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sharkey Howes & Javer bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,337 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $443,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $5.86 on Monday, hitting $270.93. 2,175,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,926,316. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $286.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $194.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.42.

American Express 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.