Heritage Trust Co Takes $7.91 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,663 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $7,913,000. American Express makes up approximately 0.9% of Heritage Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Family Office Research LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $413,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 304,439 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $90,354,000 after buying an additional 2,390 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 25,983 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $7,712,000 after purchasing an additional 3,137 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 2.0 %

American Express stock traded down $5.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $252.74. 2,015,317 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,881,080. American Express has a 52 week low of $216.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $177.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50 day moving average is $276.48 and its 200 day moving average is $288.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.