Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 3,595 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 165,391 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,595 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 1.6% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $49,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.93. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.