American Express Company $AXP Position Increased by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 29.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,032 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,287 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $20,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 210.7% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $343.95.

American Express Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $382.88 on Friday. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $387.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $368.75 and its 200-day moving average is $338.92. The stock has a market cap of $263.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.91 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. Equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total value of $894,359.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,515 shares in the company, valued at $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.