Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 18.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 133,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 31,055 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in American Express were worth $30,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $433,709,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in American Express by 924.2% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 851,431 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $197,149,000 after purchasing an additional 768,301 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $114,990,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,164,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $269,547,000 after buying an additional 486,755 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Compass Point initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.43.

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $270.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.76. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $272.68. The company has a market capitalization of $194.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.