Horizon Family Wealth Inc. Buys New Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Horizon Family Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,121 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.5%

American Express stock opened at $298.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.10. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $207.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous 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, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $311.05.

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.