Heritage Trust Co Makes New $7.91 Million Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,913,000. American Express comprises approximately 0.9% of Heritage Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

American Express Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE AXP opened at $246.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $280.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.37. 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 has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.