Atomi Financial Group Inc. Has $1.24 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,589 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the second quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 10,384 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.5% during the third quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 4.1% during the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 18.9% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $223.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.96.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $269.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $193.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.88. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $276.79.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

American Express Company 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.