Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,137,139 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,321 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,189,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Express by 42.2% during the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 165 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in American Express during the first quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $268.11 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $272.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $190.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $250.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.13 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays raised their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.78.

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.