Heritage Financial Services LLC Acquires 189 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the first quarter worth $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 104.0% in the 1st quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $328.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $349.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $319.19 and a 200-day moving average of $297.32.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. This trade represents a 54.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.95.

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.