Horizon Investments LLC Acquires 188 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,687 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,632 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,756 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research raised their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $300.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.47. The company has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.