Ballast Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,288 American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Ballast Inc. made a new investment in American Express, purchasing 1,288 shares valued at about $347,000 during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with price targets for American Express ranging from $311.00 to $375.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Insider transactions show significant sales, with Anna Marrs selling 5,500 shares and Laureen Seeger selling 61,721 shares recently, indicating potential insider confidence issues.

Ballast Inc. acquired a new position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,288 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $6.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $303.03. 2,170,314 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,645,646. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $306.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.36. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.05.

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.