Horizon Investment Services LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.9% of Horizon Investment Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.