Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,147 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,147 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $218.40 on Tuesday. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

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.