Prospect Hill Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Prospect Hill Management LLC raised its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 128.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 0.3% of Prospect Hill Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Prospect Hill Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $183,037,000 after acquiring an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in American Express by 1.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 167,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $45,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Express by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 368.7% in the first quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.68.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $6.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $308.38. 5,478,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,852,726. The company has a market capitalization of $216.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $304.19 and its 200-day moving average is $291.13. 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 Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.