Heritage Trust Co Sells 1,606 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co decreased its stake in American Express by 6.0%, owning 25,057 shares worth approximately $6.74 million after selling 1,606 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Northern Trust Corp and DZ BANK AG, significantly increased their holdings in American Express, indicating a growing institutional interest in the stock.
• American Express's stock analysts have varied opinions, with two providing a sell rating, sixteen a hold rating, and eight a buy rating, while the average target price stands at $311.05.

Heritage Trust Co cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,057 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,606 shares during the quarter. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in American Express were worth $6,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 35,295 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings 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 worth $45,243,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares in the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 368.7% in 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. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $25,679,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on American Express from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given 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.

American Express Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AXP traded down $1.69 on Tuesday, reaching $296.90. The stock had a trading volume of 459,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,957,682. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,191.50. This represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value 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 approximately $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. 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.