Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Makes New $324,000 Investment in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC has made a new investment of approximately $324,000 in American Express, acquiring 1,206 shares of the company.
• American Express reported a earnings per share of $4.08 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.86.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, with a total annualized dividend of $3.28, which represents a dividend yield of 1.1%.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,206 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 5.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 680,308 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $183,037,000 after purchasing an additional 35,295 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in American Express by 1.4% during the 1st 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. raised its stake in American Express by 6.4% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $25,679,000 after acquiring an additional 7,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:AXP opened at $299.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $291.53. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $329.14. The company has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders 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 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,950 shares of company stock worth $19,787,710 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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