Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,369 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

American Express stock opened at $300.77 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.76. The company has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.