Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 0.9% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 104.0% during the first quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $330.10 on Monday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $320.01 and a 200 day moving average of $298.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total value of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.