Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Has $705,000 Stock Holdings in American Express Company $AXP

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 23,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.37, for a total value of $7,671,326.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,343,574.81. This represents a 15.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 269,996 shares of company stock worth $85,261,270 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE AXP opened at $316.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $349.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $322.16 and a 200-day moving average of $300.36.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.87% and a net margin of 14.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $311.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 price target on American Express and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.60.

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.