Lifeworks Advisors LLC Has $850,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,134 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 42.2% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $288.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $203.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $157.00 and a 52 week high of $296.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $270.73 and a 200-day moving average of $250.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.