Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Invests $215,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,147 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $218.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $219.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

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.