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

Heritage Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 14.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $183,037,000 after buying an additional 35,295 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in American Express by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $509,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American Express by 6.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,088,000 after purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on American Express from $348.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,343,574.81. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $328.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The stock has a market cap of $228.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $319.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.32.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 23.02%.

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.