Biltmore Family Office LLC Invests $209,000 in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Biltmore Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 777 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:AXP opened at $297.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, July 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on shares of American Express and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.