BNC Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BNC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,179 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.4% of BNC Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. BNC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 102.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,480 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 6,329 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth $1,881,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in shares of American Express by 2,196.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 279,106 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $63,550,000 after acquiring an additional 91,760 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Express from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $268.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.09.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $295.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $207.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $152.05 and a 52-week high of $296.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $267.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.67.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, 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 value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About American Express

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.