American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 58.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,390 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,321 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $300.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $170.15 and a fifty-two week high of $307.82. The stock has a market cap of $211.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.45.

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.