American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

by · The Cerbat Gem

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.2% 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 1,325 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $359,000 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. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $40,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Founders Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 162.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.58.

Check Out Our Latest Report on AXP

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.29 on Thursday, reaching $269.94. 332,227 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,917,443. American Express has a 1-year low of $141.02 and a 1-year high of $286.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $263.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $194.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

American Express Profile

(Free Report)

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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