Legacy Trust Sells 73 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Legacy Trust reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,475 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 2.2% of Legacy Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Legacy Trust’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 24,642 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,314,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in American Express by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 3,026 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in American Express by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 410,457 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $121,820,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $315.14 on Thursday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.88 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $276.27. The company has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.95.

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.