Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 320,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American Express were worth $86,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. XML Financial LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 119.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 39,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 21,508 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its holdings in American Express by 2,196.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 8,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of American Express by 219.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 164,861 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $37,537,000 after acquiring an additional 113,249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $304.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.61. American Express has a one year low of $163.61 and a one year high of $307.82. The firm has a market cap of $214.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

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.