Huntleigh Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Huntleigh Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 368.7% during the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in American Express by 6.4% during 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 buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 17.9% in the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,305 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $327.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $328.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $294.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.