Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC Has $19.48 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,627 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 3.4% of Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $19,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Auxier Asset Management increased its stake in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.1 %

American Express stock opened at $318.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $224.61 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $304.66 and its 200 day moving average is $276.84. American Express has a 12-month low of $199.88 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $294.95.

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.